Suzumiya Haruhi: False Gods
by Kylandor
Summary: Return of the Gods Reboot. Just as Selvaria is about to welcome death's embrace, someone saves her life and pulls her into a web of war and intrigue extending beyond just one planet all whilst this man juggles the unpredictable consequences of Suzumiya Haruhi's antics on Earth which are attracting undue attention from SEELE/NERV. Takes place after book 20 of the manga (TMoSH)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Another Reason

"Sometimes, very rarely. A person will survive the impossible."

* * *

Foreword: This takes place in the chronology of the game regarding Valkyria Chronicles and after book 20 of the manga regarding The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi

The Imperial Kylandarian Republic, the names Ray Zenji and Laura Kylani are my personal creations. Characters and Nationalities of other series' such as The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi and Valkyria Chronicles belong to their respective owners.

* * *

A terrestrial planet, mostly temperate, Eden Class, Telemetros System, Planet ID, Tortana, Current Occupants:Various Human Nations, Previous Occupants:Valkyur Regency

* * *

A smoking crater remained at what used to be a military fortress, in it's center was a woman, uniform charred but intact enough to keep modesty.

Selvaria Bles.

* * *

She barely managed to open her eyes though was unable to do much else, her breathing raspy and sparse, she felt as if her body had been drained of it's life though somehow she was still alive though barely, perhaps on death's door and all that was left to do was wait for it's embrace.

Selvaria recalled that she had unleashed the final flame. She also began to feel what little life she had slipping away, her eyes becoming harder to keep open as she remembered all the times she had fought in battles, killed others in the name of someone who now that she continues to ponder in her final moments, held little if any regard for her. She had allowed herself to love him and in return was cast aside like a broken toy once her use as a weapon was no longer seen by him.

Was it worth it? She asked herself this, barely managing to rest her head to the side, looking at the vast destruction caused by her powers, perhaps it would have been best if she were born a normal human, perhaps then she would have a family or at the least someone who cares.

She let her eyes close, awaiting death's embrace and after a minute, heard a distorted voice before slipping into unconsciousness.

It said "Imperator, we've found her, she doesn't look like she'll live much longer."

* * *

A year later, unknown location.

* * *

The air was stale, as if she were back in a lab.

Her eyes opened rapidly, she found her arms and legs restrained, on the white ceiling was some kind of disc embedded in the tiles, making a light pulsing sound.

Selvaria was able to move her head, her breathing was normal as she looked around, she was in what seemed to be a hospital room, her clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown and her hair was slightly longer, an IV was in her right arm which along with her other arm and both her legs were restrained by some kind of fiber strap which wasn't leather or her strength would have been able to tear it which she then noticed that she felt no longer at death's door but rather invigorated as if she had never had a day better than this, she noticed a mirror to her left, her hair was white, lacking the slight blue tint to it which made itself known when her powers were active, her crimson red eyes remained normal, not glowing like they usually do in a stressful situation.

A voice made itself known. Clear and male.

It spoke from her right to which she turned her head as it said "Oh good, you're awake.".

Selvaria gave no verbal response, cautiously observing the person by her. He was in a military uniform, it was similar to an Imperial General's uniform but slightly different, the usual gold accents also had red accents alongside them, the majority of the uniform was pitch black like EEIA (East Europan Imperial Alliance) uniforms though there was no clear ranking insignia. He lacked any headwear, his hair black, his eyes dark brown and his skin color similar to that of a Darscen though not exactly, it was a brighter shade and also more tanned slightly.

His body seemed unfit for military service, a lack of any distinct muscle tone though the uniform could be hiding that however at the same time he was definitely lightweight, he was standing and was likely the same height of herself. His bearing reminded her slightly of Maximillian, perhaps he was nobility.

He noticed her observations of him and he then said "Relax, I saved your life. According to the blood tests you're a Pureblood Valkyrian, you executed a technique known as the Cobalt Sacrifice but lost control of the energies, if you were not a pureblood you would have perished with not even ashes to remain. My name is Raymond Zenji, you can call me Ray."

Selvaria managed to speak with a normal voice, saying "My name is Selvaria Bles, how long have I been unconscious?". Ray took a look at the ceiling for a moment before looking straight into Selvaria's eyes, saying "You've been out for 305 days, nearly a year.".

Selvaria stared for a moment, she was out for a whole year and thus was in the dark of what had happened after her sacrifice. She spoke again, saying "What of the war? Did we win?" Ray shook his head and said "The East Europan Imperial Alliance and the Atlantic Federation are still at war, Gallia and the Empire have a cease fire agreement, Prince Maximilian and his invasion failed and ended with his death at the hands of a Gallian Milita Squad, currently Gallia is in a state of civil war regarding the revelations that Cordellia is in fact, Darscen. Everyone believes you died when you used your full powers, an empty coffin was buried in an Imperial War Cemetary two weeks after your supposed death."

Selvaria was both shocked beyond belief and angry as well, her sacrifice did nothing and the world believed her dead. She tried to free herself of the straps, attempting to use the emotional distress to activate her powers, instead the device on the ceiling merely pulsed at a faster rate, seemingly matching her strength though she was able to free her left hand from it's restraint and grabbed Ray by the throat whilst noting that he wasn't concerned at all.

She spoke firmly and threateningly, saying "Where am I? If you value your life you'll answer my questions.".

Ray did the impossible, he simply walked backwards, his throat phasing through Selvaria's grip as if he had become intangible temporarily, his eyes flashed golden for a moment before returning to their natural dark brown shade as he rubbed his throat. Ray then said "I would have answered those questions merely for the asking. You are 80 miles above the surface of Gallia, in a ship capable of space travel.".

With those words said Ray activated some kind of device on his wrist, activating a display on the wall which showed a high altitude aerial view over most of Europa, yet alone Gallia, the clouds covered parts of the area and the blue sea was so distant there was no glimmer, night was over half of the continent. If she didn't feel as if she were a prisoner the sight would be beautiful and even in this situation, it was breathtaking. More shocking was the display however, it seemed formless yet so vivid in color and realism but it wasn't a window, it was being projected by what she noticed as a screen on the wall.

Selvaria just stared at the sight of the planet below in disbelief when someone else entered the room, a woman who was likely Selvaria's age, she had the same height as Ray and was Caucasian in features, her eyes a bright green and her hair a very dark shade of brown, she was wearing a uniform similar to Selvaria's old uniform but contained different ranking insignia's which were unfamiliar, on her left hip was a longsword in a black leather sheath, the woman spoke, saying "Imperator, we're ready to leave the Telemetros system now, no signs that we've been detected by Regency long range sensors yet but we should leave now."

Ray replied "Very well, set course for Helena Station in the Sol System." The woman nodded her head affirming the order as well as giving a salute, a nametag on her uniform said Laura Kylani. After the salute Laura left the room, presumably to carry out her orders.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ray resumed his focus on Selvaria who was beginning to calm down and was now focusing her attention on Raymond, she was wary of moving her right arm because of the IV which was, to Ray's knowledge infusing her with nanomachines to not only assist her recovery but also inoculate her from bacteria and diseases not native to her own planet as her immune system would have no defense against it and because of the Psi-Inhibitor on the ceiling, she wouldn't be able to burn out the illnesses with her powers.

Ray spoke, saying "Well, back to our conversation, I have no intention of harming you but at the same time I am taking precautions. The device on the ceiling is designed to inhibit your abilities as a Valkyur, no matter how hard you tried you couldn't use your powers, not even if critically injured. Such devices are short range however as once you leave this room, you will be able to access your powers though I suspect you lack the knowledge and experience on how to activate them without being injured as unlike ordinary Valkyur, purebloods can harness their powers at will once they learn how. I saved your life and only ask one thing in return."

Selvaria was now deep in thought, to her world she was dead, the only person she cared about was dead and she was in no position to fight as Ray seemed to have the power to phase through solid objects at will, the title the woman called him by, Imperator. Was it a rank in his nation or perhaps was he truly the leader of a nation capable of travelling across the heavens? More importantly he had described something that never occurred to her, that she could access her powers without injury. She had no purpose anymore it seemed except to ask what this man wanted. If he was indeed the leader of a nation then he was the youngest she had ever seen, he was probably no older than 17 on appearances.

She decided to speak, saying "What do you want from me?" Ray made a slight grin and replied "I offer you the position of a Praetorii(Pray-Tor-Eee). Part of my personal guard effectively. I will train you on how to harness your full potential and in exchange I ask for five years of loyal service from you. After those five years you are free to leave or if you wish, stay."

Selvaria nodded in affirmation, it wasn't that she was quick to trust but rather that she had been given a second chance by this man and she had decided to make the best of it.

* * *

Six Days later, Helena Station, 200 feet below the Martian Surface. Sol System - 1500 Hours (3:00PM) Local Time (The Facility running on a 24 hour time shift despite being located on Mars which had shorter days)

* * *

A pair of metal doors slid open in opposite directions revealing three people. In the center of them was Ray Zenji, Imperator of the Imperial Kylandarian Republic, a galactic power with territorial boundaries spanning 43% of the galaxy though because of the sheer number of stars, not all of this territory was colonized or in effective use, the solar system they were in was not part of this territory but rather instead considered a protected area, completely surrounded on all angles by Kylandarian space, from the point of view of the Earthborn people in this station, The Final Frontier was already scouted, surveyed and settled long before Terrans had officially set foot on the very planet they were on now.

To Ray's right was Laura Kylani, to his left was Selvaria Bles, now in a uniform much like Laura's only with a different rank insignia pin as she had only recently been recruited, feeling very similar to what she felt when Maximilian first took her from the lab she was kept at, cautious yet grateful.

Selvaria's hair now had it's slight blue tint as she was no longer in the presence of an active Psi-Inhibitor, on her left hip was a rapier blade in a black leather sheath, similar to her previous sword which sadly was vaporized a year ago when she activated a power Ray had mentioned could be used without the risk of death if properly controlled.

Ray had explained to her that amongst the valkyur there are those known as "Purebloods" who have even greater levels of power and could survive incredible injuries which would otherwise be fatal to humans and ordinary valkyur.

He had also explained that they are not lost to history but rather a thriving galactic monarchy which holds territorial boundaries averaging 23% of the Galaxy's regions, being in an upper quadrant and bordering several minor galactic powers and having a very thin border with the IKR, that border being an expanse of space without stars or planets known to the galaxy as the Ne'Meann(Neh-Mee-An) Expanse, most of which is under Kylandarian authority.

As time passes the three make their way to a meeting room in the facility, joined by another person, his hair orange, his skin tone bright and wearing blue tinted glasses, a white lab coat, purple lab gloves and black shoes. He spoke, saying "Imperator Ray Zenji, a pleasure to meet you once more. This must be the Valkyur I was told I would be meeting. My name is Dexter McPhereson, CEO of DexCorp and aside from the top brass of the United States and Russian Federation, the only person aware that Earth is not alone in the galaxy, or at least the person absolutely sure of it and having evidence to support it."

Selvaria simply replied "Selvaria Bles, I have recently joined the ranks of the Imperator's Praetorii. I was told he often seeks non-nationals as his personal guard."

Ray nodded as the three sat down in chairs at the table, saying "Specifically I choose gifted individuals for the role of Praetorii and Praetorians though statistics proves that most of these individuals are usually from underdeveloped planets such as Earth and Tortana. On to business, Dexter I assume you have gone over the details?"

Dexter nodded and said "Yes, in the event that SEELE does successfully capture either of the two Shinjin DexCorp is to participate in a joint raid on Tokyo to retrieve them alongside the Southern Martian Confederacy and the Imperial Kylandarian Republic. Personally I dislike the idea of the Martians participating as because of the popularity of H.G. Well's War of the Worlds book on Earth, the idea of life on Mars being hostile is known to them and worldwide panic would occur even if it was only one city under attack, furthermore even if the attack was surgical like the plan details, the city itself would be thrown into chaos at the sight of their Generation 3 Fighting Machines. Personally I'd rather we seek help from the Western Martian Republic as they have devices more suited for surgical strikes."

Ray nods and says "I understand your concern but the western Martians aren't exactly our closest ally, more of an enemy of my enemy ally. Also we must keep into account that despite deflecting those old Valkyrian Automatons SEELE still has their hands on what they call Evangelions. They are confirmed to have three capable of combat action, designated as EVA-00, EVA-01 and EVA-02 respectively, furthermore they are working on Project Zeus more openly so we suspect they are planning on making a move soon. In the event we have to engage those devices in open combat we will have to go all out, that means no more ignorance is bliss for the Earth."

Dexter sighs, accepting the reality of the situation, SEELE is one of the few groups on Earth capable of surviving a low scale Kylandarian Intervention, DexCorp being the second and his rival Mandark's DarkCorp being the third. Dexter then says "In regards for these two Shinjin, what are you planning to do with them? I highly doubt you intend to kill them or you would have done so already."

Ray's eyes shift golden as he says "Suzumiya Haruhi and Kazahana Sasaki are both ill-equipped psychologically to handle the realities of the universe though I believe they can be taught the values of leaving things as they are. Sasaki at the least is aware of her powers to a degree though unwilling to use them consciously, Haruhi on the other hand is the real problem, her eccentric personality and childish desire for an over-eventful life has already caused a time loop which repeated itself hundreds of thousands of times though we need not worry about those information based life forms interfering, I have already contacted them and convinced them of a course of action favorable to both of us though if they stray from it, we can easily force them out of the solar system indefinitely."

Dexter lets the information sink in whilst Selvaria continues to ponder on the things Ray told her on the way here.

* * *

3 days ago, Interstellar Space.

* * *

Selvaria listened closely with honest interest to Ray's words. So far he was the only one with all the right answers about her Valkyrian heritage and more importantly the mindset of the Valkyur Regency, a mindset that made her ashamed of her heritage.

Ray spoke, saying "The Valkyur were originally normal humans but a peak in solar radiation mutated a select few people, the strongest of them the Valkyur call Odin and he was a real person, Earth as I explained used to have many polytheistic religions much like your planet, most of these gods and demigods were in fact, Valkyur. From your own perspective you can understand why as those on Tortana viewed the ancient Valkyur as gods in some cases. The Valkyur Regency grew complacent with their powers, viewing their non-psionic brothers and sisters as sub-human or specifically to clarify, take the discrimination against the Darscen ethnic group on Tortana, and multiply it by 100. The Valkyur don't even consider people without psionic power as sub-human. In history however they have encountered individuals, very rare individuals, who had absolute power. Shinjin utilize closed space through non-psionic means to alter reality, local or universal, at will. This made the Valkyur consider them gods based on the fact that these Shinjin shared the same mindset as the Valkyur in most cases and the Valkyur have a prophecy given to them by the late Shinjin of those days, that one day two seemingly ordinary human women will be revealed as Shinjin and they will either bring peace, or chaos and another male Shinjin will stand against the Valkyur. I can only assume these Shinjin peeked into the future. Selvaria, I will now reveal to you what all my Praetorii and Praetorians know as well as the higher levels of government though I keep this fact a secret from the general population so they don't make me out what I am not. I am a Shinjin, and these other two Shinjin in the prophecy, I have located, they are on the firstworld, the world the Valkyur first evolved and later were forced to flee by the superior numbers of ordinary humans, the planet known to the galaxy, not just itself as Earth in a system recognized in the galaxy as Sol. Every major galactic power recognizes that although life did indeed involve independently from Earth in similar or even exact manners across the galaxy, it first happened on Earth."

* * *

Present Day

* * *

The meeting was formally over, Dexter had consigned to Ray's plan though kept in mind that an outright invasion of Tokyo was a last resort, once he left, it was just Ray and his two Praetorii.

Ray spoke, saying "Now for the second part of this meeting, amongst us I have a plan regarding how to stabilize Haruhi's personality and erase Sasaki's naiveté. Selvaria will be instructed in the Japanese language as well as enough of their customs so as not to alienate them. Our agents have already began constructing her identity and credentials as a teacher and prior to the beginning of this long operation she will be instructed on Terran history, the class that she will be teaching there as part of her cover. Selvaria, take note that there might be renegade interfaces from the Integrated Data Thought Entity or this new player the Canopy Dominion might take action, in point of fact according to our sleeper agent they have already made a death threat against Suzumiya Haruhi so you may be forced to reveal your powers in front of her if her life comes in danger. Also there is the possibility that there may be Valkyur Regency spies amongst the city and of course SEELE is the primary threat but also you may need to act directly if the other group I told you about, archived by us as Pro-Sasaki may also attempt to transfer Haruhi's energies into Sasaki which they believe is rightfully hers, if so then respond as necessary, with deadly force only if absolutely necessary as this transfer would place Haruhi into the same state I found you in, only we won't be able to bring her back. Shinjin are not all powerful, we cannot resurrect the dead or create life with closed space, believe me, I have tried and failed. Furthermore Shinjin cannot directly affect other Shinjin, meaning I cannot simply wish Haruhi or Sasaki gone or directly alter their memories using closed space, with psionics or technology I could but that requires revelations they are not yet ready for and could cause a reaction faster than the memory wipe could fix. Laura will be replacing North High's Physical Education teacher and I will be infiltrating as a foreign student from the United States, because we are dealing with Shinjin I will need to be directly involved with this operation and as such I'll have to manage the Empire's day-to-day issues from Earth though this is not the first time I've gotten directly involved with long-term covert operations."

With these words said, the meeting was over.

* * *

The Next Month - Terran Calander, May 7th, 2015

* * *

Infiltrating the school was easy enough, in only a month Selvaria had learned enough of history and retained this information effectively to be an effective teacher, it was a nice change of pace from war though she did realize that in time, she may need to draw her blade and with the powers she has now under her control she will be able to avoid the fate she made last time. Laura was Earthborn and had been at Ray's side since before he rose to power and the two were as close as siblings, often being unprofessional in speech when not in a serious situation though the two never had any serious disagreements aside from Laura's concern over Ray directly involving himself with covert operations and in some cases, military engagements.

Ray himself was a mystery to anyone who did not know his past, something he and Laura keep to themselves though it doesn't really show unless someone asks about family. Ray knew Laura since the two were ten years old and their life had been filled with nothing but violence and fear until the day Ray disappeared, only to appear in the nick of time to save Laura from a crazy cult seeking her "sacrifice" and when he appeared, he had a sizable force with him and possessed superhuman abilities, prior to that rescue he was an ordinary human who was like the rest of Earth, ignorant to the state of affairs of the galaxy.

But right now, he was quickly getting bored with the way things were going, perhaps if he manipulated events further he could ease it but then again, he wanted to avoid being noticed too quickly.

Learning about primitive sciences and he already knew Earth's complicated history, even things that weren't in the history books, then came the moment he caught the brunette's attention.

* * *

Standing ready to run around the school's track, Laura was near, being the PE Teacher in point of fact, alongside Ray were two other students, this was an evaluation of their running abilities and their stamina.

Koizumi Itsuki.

A man everyone simply called Kyon, his real name irrelevant.

In the sidelines was Suzumiya Haruhi, watching to see how her fellow SOS-dan members will hold up to the transfer student, she already had a mysterious transfer student and that was Koizumi though Ray interested her slightly in the fact that he was American.

It was a hot day for most of the people here though Laura and Ray were in fact, Earthborn in the state of California and thus accustomed to higher temperatures. Laura was of Italian and French descent whilst Ray was mostly latino though his skin tone was a little lighter than that ethnic would be.

The signal was given and Ray who would give off the impressions of being frail due to his weak build was in fact capable of running faster than his two classmates and further than that, after over a full minute of running, showed no signs of fatigue or even any signs of sweating.

As the two minute mark was hit and the exercise finished, Kyon and Koizumi were strained though Ray showed no signs of fatigue, to him this was not because of his powers, this was because of technology. Inside his bloodstream was a complex stream of nanites that regulated his biometrics to the point that he could endure a lot of exercise before beginning to sweat as the nanites compensated for the human body's own inefficiencies.

After gym was past and Ray staring out the window during lunch hour, she showed up with a face filled with intent. Ray turned his head to acknowledge Haruhi's presence though merely did just that, confirming her presence then proceeding to ignore her, staring back out the window to which the brunette responded by grabbing him by the neck tie in front of the other students present and dragging him into the hallway seemingly against his will though in reality he was just playing along, being fully capable of stopping her without revealing his abilities.

* * *

Haruhi had Ray held against the wall ironically, in the very same place she did this to Kyon when she recruited (Forced) him to help her form the SOS-dan.

She spoke, saying "You seem perfect for joining my club, the SOS-dan (SOS Brigade), our intent is to find aliens, espers and time travelers and have fun with them. Interested?"

Ray replied "Perhaps I would consider the possibility of it if you would let go of me!" Haruhi decided to simply drag him further towards the club room though halfway there Ray decided enough was enough and he grabbed Haruhi's hand which was gripping his tie and clenched hard enough to cause her a bit of pain, forcing her to let go of the tie, though she turned with a hostile look in her eyes when facing Ray who was fixing his tie into a comfortable position until he realized the nature of her glare to which he then proceeded to remove the tie and stuff it in his uniform's pocket instead, preventing any further choking hazard.

Haruhi spoke, saying "Aren't you bored with the way things are? Are you seriously content with staring out at the window without anything crossing your mind?"

Ray replied "No I'm not content with the current state of affairs but I'm also not willing to be dragged and choked by you all the way to wherever you're taking me, I can walk just fine." Haruhi stared for a moment before walking towards the clubroom with Ray following and putting his tie back on.

Upon reaching the clubroom Haruhi opened the door and rather confidently presented to the occupants their new member as if he had directly agreed to join.

Ray spoke, saying "I said I would consider it, I didn't say I would join right off the bat."

The people present aside from Ray and Haruhi were...

Nagato Yuki.

Koizumi Itsuki.

Kyon.

Asahina Mikuru.

Haruhi didn't say anything in response to Ray's statement, choosing to completely ignore him, Kyon merely sighed, Koizumi kept up his smile, Nagato seemingly didn't do much more than acknowledging his existence though Mikuru had a slight expression of shock though thankfully Haruhi was looking in Kyon's direction at the time before she put up a façade of normality.

* * *

POV Shift - Kyon

* * *

Haruhi was at it again, another forced recruit into the SOS-dan though he honestly was not expecting it because Haruhi beforehand had shown little interest in a new member of the SOS-dan, Mikuru's reaction however piqued his interest as she for a moment seemed to know him and perhaps was afraid of him, he had seen that look before whenever Nagato did something extraordinary around Mikuru.

As time passed Ray had gone along with Haruhi's antics and agreed to join the SOS-dan, once it was down to Ray and Kyon alone however, everything changed.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ray was playing a game of checkers with Kyon. Aside from general introductions the others had gone there way and there was still time for this leisurely game before class, Ray spoke, saying "Tanis."

It was a key word, it triggered memories that were repressed and Kyon, at least for the moment, remembered who he really was, that his entire family was in fact Praetorians and Praetorii with the exception of his younger sister who honestly had no idea what was going on.

Kyon then spoke whilst making a move on the board of checkers, saying "So you've finally decided on a course of action? You do realize Haruhi has, twice, looped the school years back to when I first arrived." Ray nodded, being a Shinjin he was immune to the temporal memory regression much like Nagato Yuki and the IDTE only for different reasons as Shinjin cannot directly affect other Shinjin, including their memories. Ray replied "Long story short, I'm here to steal her away from you. My interest goes beyond recruiting her as a Praetorii." Kyon let slip a few laughs before saying "You? Falling in love? That's something I'd never expect and in the odd case I assumed you and Laura would have started something." Ray dismissed that thought, he and Laura saw eachother as siblings even though they were not related by blood though he could understand how someone would get the idea of unexpressed feelings as their relationship had no restraint, they spoke plainly with eachother and rarely minced words, having seen the crazy side of mankind when they were kids. Although Ray looked 17 he was in reality, over 500 years old and so was Laura, the two having had an unexpected trip through time though whilst Ray chose to have his nanites lock his biological age at 17, Laura chose to keep it at 22 though Ray had recently adjusted the nanites in his blood to allow him to age normally again merely for appearances and Laura had done the same and the process could easily be reversed afterwards.

The Kylandarians had after all, conquered aging and practical longevity was normal life for the human yet extraterrestrial civilization.

Ray then said "Laura and I are close friends but it doesn't go further then that. As for my interest in Suzumiya it is perhaps because she reminds me a little of myself in my younger days. I wasn't as eccentric as she was and to be honest perhaps we are polar opposites in personality but one thing we have in common is that in our youth we had a bit of hyperactivity, Haruhi is still in this stage though I phased out of it long ago. As for Asahina Mikuru however, she is an oddity. We know she is a time traveler but from how far in the future has yet to been clarified, her genetics don't match up with anyone in the registry so she is most likely Earthborn. My question to you is whether or not she's a threat."

Kyon replied "Her younger self isn't a threat but I can't be sure of her older counterpart's intentions. Something must have happened between her current place in time and her future place in time, something that changed her outlook on things. I need to tell you this now however that my feelings for her are genuine, if possible I would like to avoid seeing her harmed." Ray shook his head slightly and said "Oh really? I never took you for the kind who would be torn between two women, what about Sasaki, I recall you confiding in me your feelings about her last time we had a talk"

Kyon didn't reply, truth be told Sasaki was at first just a friend to him but that was to his concealed persona. When his memories weren't suppressed it became something more, his experiences that made him who he was altered his personality slightly when he had access to them just as much when he didn't.

Ray decided to let Kyon's subconscious debate on this for a while and sent a small burst of data in Kyon's direction, causing him to regress his true memories and to the sleeper version, he merely played a wordless game of checkers with Ray, and lost it seems.

* * *

Night - POV Shift - Selvaria Bles

* * *

Selvaria was puzzled at the antics Suzumiya Haruhi had been responsible for. Although Koizumi's organization had influence in the school it wasn't enough to keep the teachers from constantly talking about the Shinjin's eccentric moments and in only a day Selvaria found herself even more puzzled at how someone like Ray could tolerate such behavior though she reminded herself that she doesn't truly know the man, having only been aware of his existence for a month.

Though compared to the horrors of war it was paradise. Despite her calm and sometimes cold demeanor in the past she despised war, hating having to take another man's life, using her powers to kill instead of to help. She only followed Maximilian because of her feelings towards him and as sleep takes its effect on the Valkyur who had finally been able to at the least for a while have a civilian lifestyle in a society more advanced than the previous one, Selvaria found her mind pondering the possibility that she was beginning to feel the same feelings but for the Imperator. Unlike Maximilian, he wasn't aristocratic or overly professional, he acted more like a friend than her superior. It makes her wonder how the rest of her people can view a man like him as the devil in their twisted view of the so called prophecy.

* * *

POV Shift - Laura Kylani

* * *

Laura always had a hard time falling asleep even in comfortable surroundings, at least when alone. Ever since she was 10 she had shared her nights with Ray, the two being on the run all the time meant they slept when and where they could, constantly being hunted down by insane zealots who believed a sacrificial ritual which would cost Laura her life would somehow stop all evil in the world. At ten years old her closest friend took lives to save her, back then she was an absolute stranger to him and the two lived lives no child should have to go through and when Ray disappeared when they were 15, she feared they had found him and killed him until the moment a year after that, just before a sword went through her chest, a formless shadow killed her would-be-murderer, that shadow then receeded and reformed into Ray's right hand, she remembered the gunfire from the men and women Ray had brought with him, and the words he said upon their reunion reminded her that he was a true friend.

"When I make a promise of that nature, I either keep it or die trying."

Laura slowly allowed sleep to take hold, keeping the bad memories locked away, remembering that the cult can no longer harm her. All those years Ray had protected and shielded her from harm, now she was in a position, an official one at that, to do the same for him.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ray was alone in his new yet temporary residence, laying on his bed, staring at his own hand for some reason.

When he became aware of his true nature he erased his subconscious to prevent accidental use of closed space, as such he never dreams anymore, always falling asleep to darkness until he wakes to daylight although occasionally his direct consciousness has begun to adapt to the role of dreaming though it amounts to nothing more than himself alone in a dimension of either utter darkness or some kind of ethereal white realm where somehow his body shines brighter than the white around him.

To ensure he never dealt with emotional problems associated with war he used the nanites to suppress his emotions though somehow the direct sight of Suzumiya Haruhi broke through the nanites ability to suppress his emotions. Perhaps it was because she was a Shinjin like himself, perhaps they were malfunctioning in some manner that couldn't be detected easily or perhaps Ray's conscious mind has rebuilt a small part of his subconscious and that subconscious mind suppresses his nanites.

He has a plan though, one he must follow through on or Earth's stability is lost forever. The Valkyur seem to be militarizing their border and if they push through the Ne'Meann Expanse in full force then there is a chance Earth will become a battleground between two galactic superpowers.

He shakes his thoughts away, deciding to allow sleep to claim him.

Just before he falls directly asleep however, a sudden image makes itself known to his mind, an image that causes an emotion Ray has not felt since before learning of his nature as a Shinjin.

The emotion is fear.

The Image is Haruhi, age roughly 18, with what seems to be a cybernetic armor covering all but her head, her skin slightly pale.

The prospect that SEELE would get their hands on Haruhi and turn her into a living weapon without free will was in itself a worse fate than having to relive the bad memories of his life with his emotions unsuppressed, all 522 years of them.

He would not let that happen, even if it meant violating the Firstworld Accords with the Transvaal Empire because it would be better to have a galactic war for some 10 or 20 years rather than for SEELE to play with fire in the manner that causes incineration of not just yourself, but all that surrounds you.

* * *

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Anger

"If the rule that opposites attract applies to personality, then people are doomed to fight."

* * *

Foreword: This takes place in the chronology of the game regarding Valkyria Chronicles and after book 20 of the manga regarding The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi

The Imperial Kylandarian Republic, the names Ray Zenji and Laura Kylani are my personal creations. Characters and Nationalities of other series' such as The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi and Valkyria Chronicles belong to their respective owners.

* * *

POV - Ray Zenji - Location : North High, Nishinomiya, Japan, Earth, the next day.

* * *

The feeling that Ray felt was no longer interest, it was anger. Koizumi merely got up and was leaving, Kyon had already dashed out knowing what would happen whilst Nagato paid no attention to anything but the book she was reading. Haruhi's intent was clear even if Ray had not placed a sleeper agent here, Haruhi's antics involving forcing Mikuru to dress in various sets of clothes was too much for him to tolerate as he stood up and without a word said, got between Haruhi and Mikuru (in the process shoving Haruhi back a bit.)

Haruhi's face seemed to be just as angry as Ray was as she shouted "And just what are you doing?" Ray shouted back "That's my line, I've heard some crazy rumors from that loudmouth Taniguchi but this is intolerable!" Ray turned his head towards Mikuru, saying "Why the hell do you put up with this?"

Ray felt a sharp pain in his head as Haruhi grabbed him by the hair and said quietly so only he would hear, saying "You do realize I'm the one in charge of the SOS-dan's activities, don't get in my way or all the hard work goes to you."

Haruhi's attempt to threaten Ray had no effect as he acted on instinct alone.

Dashing down (which in the process caused a few strands of his hair being torn from his head as they were in Haruhi's grip) Ray also spun his body in a 90 degree angle with his right leg going 145 degrees, knocking Haruhi off her feet and causing her to hit the floor, rather hard.

Ray quickly realized the flare of his temper and sent a mental command to his nanites to double the suppression effect which sadly, did nothing to calm him down.

Deciding instead to deal with it the old fashioned way, he got back into a standing position facing Haruhi and sighed, offering his hand to help her up to which she grabbed and after she had gotten up, gave a quick glance at Ray which made him shudder just before Haruhi attempted to punch him with every ounce of strength she had, only for him to grab her clenched fist and stop the punch effortlessly, his anger calmed and now he was in a semi-tranquil state, completely emotionally disciplined by sheer willpower.

He spoke, saying "I apologize for knocking you on the floor, I tend to act instinctively when someone attacks me such as grabbing me by the hair."

Haruhi managed to calm herself down and despite her eccentricity she did realize she did attack him first. Haruhi however merely walked out the door, Koizumi heard the crash though at first assumed it was part of Haruhi's antics until he saw her walk out, face holding back a bit of anger and her right fist clenched though after a moment she relaxed it and turned in Ray's direction, saying "You win, this time." before walking away.

Ray let a sigh of relief, her temper could have caused a serious problem but somehow she was able to suppress it, perhaps she wasn't as immature as she looked.

* * *

Several Hours Later, POV Shift - Selvaria Bles

* * *

Walking about the city was brought many surprises to Selvaria who was used to the mostly rural constructions of Tortana and although a few times she had been in major cities of Europa, none radiated like this one.

There was perhaps more people in this city than there was in all of Gallia and according to Ray, it wasn't the largest nor the most populated.

Selvaria didn't lack for currency as both the IKR held agents in here to keep accounts open for operations and also in addition her job as a teacher was genuine and it paid good enough for Selvaria to manage a normal lifestyle. The cuisine in Japan also had several times tempted her to experiment and found a particular liking in curry and sushi, similar foods existed in Tortana's far east but she had never tried them before.

As for their entertainment industry, Selvaria was torn as although they were inventive, in some ways they were inventive in the wrong manner, at times she wondered if it was a nation of perverts until she remembered what Ray had told her. It was a planet of perverts, Earth's culture had shifted in the 1970s and 1980s into something that would be considered socially unacceptable in the ages beforehand and their 1930s and 40s were what more closely resembled Tortana's current social and technological state with the exception of flight and in the late 40s, Atomic Bombs. Chemical Weapons had also eluded the development of Europa and based on old war pictures, the damage caused by a nuclear weapon of the 40s and 50s were equal to the final flame, with Hydrogen Bombs being superior and also according to Ray, the Valkyur never developed atomic power until first contact with the Transvaal, never having needed it because of their psionic abilities allowed for FTL travel without the need of nuclear power, Purebloods were simply that powerful and further developments of Ragnite outclassed uranium and plutonium, making it a true wonder material.

Selvaria found herself at a simple café as she wanted to relax from a rather long afternoon of shopping, across the building was the SOS-dan which she noticed. Selvaria found civilian clothes on Earth much more comfortable than in Europa.

Amongst the SOS-dan was Suzumyia Haruhi, Kyon, Koizumi Itsuki, Nagato Yuki, Asahina Mikuru and Ray Zenji.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ray drank his tea rather quickly, not really paying attention to Haruhi's plans about looking about the city for strange occurances. He had seen more than enough supernatural events before being abducted by the Kylandarian Empire's previous Imperator, Alpha Destriex who was as inept in managing a nation as was King Louis prior to the French Revolution, his execution being an event Ray had witnessed during his time travel issue, whenever Ray recalled the previous Imperator he merely thought "Good Riddance" in his mind.

Haruhi had made him pay for the bill though Ray had no qualms, he wanted to make amends for leg sweeping Haruhi hours ago, a move he thankfully managed to restrain or he would have made a hit for her knee instead of her foot which with the force of rotation he was putting out, would have broken her leg. Ray didn't want to even consider Haruhi's reaction if that had happened not to mention the legal issues later though Ray could easily use telepathy to get out of a problem such as that though he rarely used it as the link was difficult to control, often memories from the other person filled into his own mind, he only felt comfortable with it when linked with Laura, the two already knew everything about each other so there really was nothing new to learn.

Haruhi woke him from his thoughts as she held her hand out with straws, the bottoms of which had different colors, people with the same color would pair up and as Ray drew his straw and the others did as well, he found himself slightly annoyed.

He was paired with Haruhi of all people, the one person who seemed to stir his emotions in unpredictable ways, at first it was slight romantic intentions and then it was sheer anger, only God knows what's next.

* * *

Haruhi had non-physically dragged Ray across a variety of places (Not really giving him a choice and ignoring him when he suggested someplace different than what Haruhi was thinking.).

Crossing the street towards a manga shop which Haruhi was interested in stopping by before continuing her otherwise fruitless search, in there Ray noticed a sight he would rather have had happen at a later time.

Kazahana Sasaki.

Kuou Suou.

Fujiwara.

Tachibana Kyoko.

Among them was another of his Praetorii, one he assigned to watch and influence Sasaki without revealing more than the fact that she too was "alien".

Ty Lee, an individual from the fourth planet from Tau Ceti, a star only 4.3 lightyears from Sol.

* * *

Flashback, Earth Calander - June 9th, 1971, Location - Tau Ceti IV - Local ID:Terra

* * *

Ray was dressed in a black trenchcoat with a black shirt underneath it, his pants being sweats and were black as well, his shoes were combat boots and were also black, in effect Ray was dressed entirely in pitch black clothes to suit the night operation and at the same time make it very clear to anyone of this planet he associated himself with no nation.

It had been ten years since the end of this planet's largest military conflict, rivalling the scope and scale of World War 2 though the technology was at best varied. The Fire Nation was clearly in an industrial age though the sheer common presence of element based psionic powers referred locally as bending had overshadowed any firearm development, the Earth Kingdom resembled China during the 1500s and the water tribes were no more advanced than the Cherokee tribes just before contact with the European settlers.

There used to be another group known as the Air Nomads, they resembled the Shaolin Monks though they had been hunted to extinction by the fire nation some 110 years ago though one survived and word around was that he had a two year old child now, the airbenders had a future. This individual was known as the Avatar, a product of the Anidori Confederation of Alliances, the minor galactic power that used to manipulate this planet's affairs until the Kylandarians defeated them during the Expansionist Wars and had now effectively reduced them to a handful of systems. The Anidori had a habit of managing a pre-FTL planet until it developed atomic power and then would directly reveal themselves, offering the world a place in their confederation though they had a nasty habit of managing planets through world wars. The reason they were an enemy of the IKR was because they violated the Firstworld Doctrine the IKR had established, treaties were mere familiarities as the IKR had a fleet in orbit of Mars with one purpose. Destroy any approaching unauthorized vessel when it entered the Sun's primary gravity well (Sol's gravity extends beyond Pluto, but it's effective gravity is barely at Pluto's range, a star's effective gravity well is what is measured as actual territory compared to claimed territory in galactic affairs, actual empires measure navigation in the manner of a sea of millions of bubbles representing planet gravity wells and star gravity wells with empty space having little value except for stealth operations or the direct line of transit between stars and planets as after all, space is mostly empty and sparse hydrogen atoms aren't enough to merit installations outside a star's gravity well.)

Ray's thoughts often passed without much thinking because of his nano-suppression and he walked into the village where the fabled Kyoshi Warriors dwelled.

Tourism had risen highly here as one of their numbers, Ty Lee, born in the fire nation though after the war officially became a Kyoshi Warrior and in the process taught them a martial arts technique known as Chi Blocking which temporarily inhibited the victims bending in addition to striking down muscle movement.

And then what seemed to be a peaceful town became a scene of horror as an explosion went off nearby, Ray turned his head in it's direction, he had not aggressed against this planet before and had no intentions now until a woman made herself known, her face seemed angry though her eyes seemed void of logic, she was perhaps insane and Ray's surprise ended as he recalled this was Azula, driven insane by her father's lack of care and her mother's banishment. But for someone from a galactic power, insanity could be cured if it were physiological and based on his observations, this was physiological insanity as it wasn't until the later stages of the war that she snapped, she had escaped custody of a mental care facility in the fire nation and was presumably after her ex-comrade Ty Lee.

Ray sighed and approached her calmly, Azula took notice that amongst everyone else who was running in fear of her, this man who seemed no older than 17, younger than herself (10 years after the war, Azula was now 24 years old.).

Ray stopped 10 feet from her, staring without fear and was perfectly calm, nonchalant infact as he seemed to be looking down on her as if she was inferior, this infuriated her as she decided to teach him a lesson, sending a barrage of blue fire at him which to her surprise, he redirected easily as if a master firebender.

Ray decided to act quickly, in the distance Ty Lee was leading a group of Kyoshi Warriors to react to Azula's rampage though quite honestly, although she had made herself known only 35 seconds ago it was nowhere near enough time for them to be of any assistance to Ray who used sheer telekinesis to grab Azula at a distance and sent her flying into the building behind Ray.

Azula was dumbfounded both by a power that shouldn't be possible and by the pain of slamming into a wooden structure at 30 miles per hour, she got up but pain soon caused her to collapse, she looked at herself, blood was pouring from her arms and her left leg was most definitely broken, twisted into an unnatural position, shock being the reason she didn't feel it at first. The building's wall was torn to pieces, splinters everywhere and one piece was embedded in Azula's broken leg, causing profusive bleeding as Ray suddenly appeared less than an arm's length away as he said "Sleep."

Azula felt a sudden headache as Ray's eyes shifted from their dark brown color to a glowing blue color which seemed to hypnotize her into sleep despite the pain. Ray then set his hand on Azula's head and she became outlined with a green grid before disappearing completely just as Ty Lee approached the scene, both herself and her comrades dumbfounded at the sight, Ray not only subdued Azula but in a manner which made him appear as if he had godlike power.

* * *

A few hours later and Ray was in a room sitting on a rug, affront of him was several people.

Leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, Suki, her husband Sokka. Ty Lee and a couple other women whose names were not as important.

Suki spoke, saying "Whilst we thank you for subduing Azula, we must ask what your business is here, you obviously are not an ordinary person."

Ray replied "I have no ill intent, I simply came to this world seeking individuals of remarkable capacity. Azula was one and another, Ty Lee is the other that I have come here for. The rest of you do not interest me any more than civilians of a neutral world, which is in fact, what you are."

Ty Lee spoke up, saying "This world? Are you then a spirit in the form of a man?" Ray laughed at this, barely controlling the fact that he found that question as a joke.

He calmed his laughter for a moment, at times the level of suppression wasn't enough and he had to adjust it though he decided not to in this case as he genuinely wanted a true laugh as it hadn't happened in 300 years, the day he learned the truth.

He spoke, saying "Sorry but I'm not used to dealing with superstitious beliefs like you though then again considering the history of this world, I can understand your assumption. I'll speak plainly, those you call the spirits are in fact not of this world, they used to have connections here via a network of riftgates but I have covertly stabilized all but one which will remain in the event there is another conflict. There are other worlds across the stars, other stars are simply other suns of lesser, equal or greater size and heat of your own Sun. The true identity of the spirits is the Anidori Confederation of Alliances, they are a nation of many races and possibly were the reason for so many conflicts in your history, perhaps even the most recent one."

Suki spoke up, saying "Hold on here, you expect us to believe the spirits who guided the Avatar to stop the war caused it in the first place? Why should we believe any of this, it seems too far fetched."

Ray replied matter-of-factly "As was steam power for the fire nation, as was Earthbending during the times of Oma and Shu, as was the Avatar before the cycle began. Often things that seem far fetched are Reality and rather soon you will know this. Whether or not your Avatar and your uneasy alliance agrees or not, key positions of this planet are going to be occupied by my nation, the Imperial Kylandarian Republic. We are not invading and already ambassadors are being sent to the other nations, we intend to help you advance further in the event the Anidori become hostile once more. This means new weaponry but also a new era in medicine and practical sciences, we can eliminate world hunger, disease and even combat aging to the point where practical longevity will soon become the norm for your society. I came here because Kyoshi Island is fiercely independent despite technically being in Earth Kingdom territory and so I decided to recognize your autonomy by coming here myself. I am a special duty officer known as an Epsilon, only one exists in the entire Imperial Republic, my Imperator has listened to my advice concerning two of this planet's locals and I have come here to offer a chance at peace. There are enemies out there worse than the Anidori and they would not be so merciful, take the Transvaal Empire for example, though you know them not, I know them well enough that they would raze your cities and leave nothing but ashes behind, ashes that they would rule and they alone. I offer Kyoshi Island protection from this. It is entirely up to you, I will remain here for a week should you have any questions. Consider Ty Lee an expeditionary if you wish, and Azula could be considered a criminal on penal service (A criminal paying for their crimes with Military Service.)

Not waiting for a response, he got up to leave only for Ty Lee to quickly dart around him and block his exit, Ray stopped and listened as Suki spoke, saying "You will need someone to accompany you at all times until we can confirm what you've said about ambassadors to other countries, as for your request regarding Ty Lee, that is up to her."

Ray sighed as he walked past Ty Lee who followed him, direct diplomatic talks wasn't his suite, he was a soldier and a general at best and although he understood the value of peace, he simply lived in a galaxy where peace was impossible and it had left an impression on him.

As time passed Suki confirmed the fact that the Imperial Kylandarian Republic had indeed sent ambassadors to the other nations who readily accepted their offers though when comparing the accounts with her own experience with Ray, she found him more of a warrior stuck on an assignment he did not want or was not suited for though she did accept the proposal and Ty Lee, interested in seeing new places decided to join him, she got more than she bargained for when only 10 years after that the Kylandarian Empire erupted into civil war, a tale for another time.

* * *

Present Time - POV - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ty Lee's face was more serious than her previous cheerful and carefree self from so many years ago, she was never in the thick of it during her world's war but the years after when she was assigned with Ray before his rise to the most powerful leader in the galaxy had changed her outlook though she still tried to keep an optimistic viewpoint as her sixth sense of sensing a person's psionic aura had usually shown her only anger, despair and death. Earth was a nice change of pace, it had a variety of auras though whenever she glanced in Ray's direction, she found him impossible to understand as he was able to conceal his aura from people with heightened senses, making him nearly impossible to predict either in combat or in personality though usually he was straightforward.

Sasaki took notice of Ty Lee's slight reaction to Ray's presence and began a conversation that was out of Ray's range of hearing as he wasn't focusing on it, being able to augment his senses if he needed to.

Haruhi was focused on looking around for a book but seemed to be frustrated in that she couldn't find it, Ray then said "Perhaps if you tell me what you're looking for I could keep an eye out for it as well."

Haruhi replied "Last month someone told me there was a manga with a title character who had my name, at first I didn't believe him and thought he was trying to make a move but when I heard someone else say the same thing on the same day I got suspicious. I can't find anything of the sort though and when I mention my name as the character's name people either say they've never heard of it or that it's sold out."

Ray felt a large feeling of annoyance now, someone, somewhere screwed up and let slip the cover-up Koizumi's little "organization" made alongside their time traveling friend. The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi, ordinarily Haruhi would simply dismiss it as coincidence but the content of the manga, anime and light novels is simply far too accurate to be coincidence and even an 8 year old could make that connection with logic and not imagination. If she was aware and interested in it then she would no doubt turn everything upside down to sate her curiosity and that would reveal the truth too soon as she isn't ready to handle such power and responsibility.

Ty Lee's conversation seemed to be heating up with Kuou Suou for some reason and suddenly the beautiful yet threatening individual began a slow approach towards Haruhi. Ray glanced in her direction for a moment, his eyes not visible to Haruhi as he flashed them golden, causing Suou to return to her little circle instead of continuing her approach, even among entities of logic and energy, killing intent can be made clear.

Haruhi noticed Ray's glance though not his eyes shifting color, when he turned his head back to her they were their normal dark brown color. Haruhi then looked in Suou's direction and noticed Sasaki and the others, Haruhi then said "Do you know them?" Ray shrugged and said "Ty Lee, just a friend from the past, she's the girl with the braid." (The fact that she was in a red Chinese dress was the only thing keeping suspicion off her.)

Haruhi became questioning and said "Oh, and how did you meet?" Ray sighed, Haruhi was getting the wrong idea so he flatly said "I beat the hell out of a thug who was attacking her home after that we spent a week just going about the town. If you're getting the wrong idea here then brush it off, she doesn't interest me in that way."

Haruhi seemed to accept the answer though was a bit surprised when he said the first eight words of his response.

* * *

Later that night.

* * *

Ray was in the privacy of his residence staring at the wall, to his eyes alone he was mentally managing a nano-communication interface and going through some routine financial reports, basic trivialities of running a Galactic Empire was at times boring but necessary.

There was a knock on his door, prompting him to get up and approaching it, having finished going over the reports.

He opened the door and a woman stood in front of him.

Her hair was a dark raven color which reminded Ray of a certain individual who was offered to become a Praetorii but refused. she was probably about 29 years old and was in civilian clothes though Ray knew exactly who she was.

Katsuragi Misato, a captain in NERV.

She speaks, saying "Hello, are you Raymond Zenji? My name is Katsuragi Misato I'll need you to come with me, it involves an issue with public security so-"

Ray interrupts her, saying "Don't assume you can have your way with me, I am well aware of my powers and both NERV and SEELE can give up on their Human Instrumentality Project."

Misato is slightly confused at the words Human Instrumentality Project though the fact that Ray is aware of NERV, a classified organization, piques her interest as she says "How would you know about NERV, that is classified information." Ray laughs and says "I've been aware of you morons from the day Ikari Gendo fished you all out of the slums. Let me say this to you Katsuragi-chan (he is using that honorific as an insult, calling her a child.), if NERV somehow, miraculously manages to get past the security I've placed on Suzumiya Haruhi and Kazahana Sasaki then the Angels will be the least of your worries."

Before Misato can reply he slams the door in her face, moments later she kicks it open and is holding a USP (A .45 caliber pistol) in her right hand as she says "I really must insist."

Ray laughs and says "That popgun couldn't hurt me even if you shot me in the head. Must I demonstrate just how far this leap of faith you're making is?" with those words a katana (commonly referred to as a Samurai Sword) appears in Ray's right hand which prompts Misato to aim her pistol at Ray who almost instantantly slices her gun in half, rendering it useless, the sword now has a green energy field surrounding it, making the entire blade a green color, Ray's left hand is still free and an orange psionic blade radiates above his wrist as he clenches his hand, his eyes glowing blue as he says "I don't even need to flaunt my abilities as a Shinjin to deal with you, perhaps you should scurry back and ask your superiors about the Imperial Kylandarian Republic, I'm sure they'll get the idea that they are knee deep in a world of shit they can't clean up."

Misato, still shocked at the fact that Ray cut her gun in half with what could only be described as an energy sword, simply nodded, dropped what was left of her sidearm and walked away, petrified in fear as Ray's eyes flashed a level of killing intent strong enough that a normal person could detect.

* * *

POV Shift - Ikari Gendo - Location, NERV HQ, 38 miles outside of Tokyo. The next day

* * *

Misato was still shaken from her encounter with Ray though now she was in control of herself once more, she had explained what happened to Ikari Gendo, the current head of NERV and had also mentioned the words Imperial Kylandarian Republic to him, once she did, his expression changed from annoyed at her failure to acquire a Shinjin (to her knowledge he simply wanted to test his ability with a new Evangelion they were developing.) to a serious face that looked like a war was coming.

Gendo knew what the words meant, it meant a threat. SEELE had informed him of the existence of a galactic power that makes the technology and military power of the United States look like a single insane moron with a twig for a weapon as afterall what could one nation of one planet do against a galactic power with thousands of worlds to use resources from.

"Thank you for the report, we'll deal with this another way, resume your normal duties, that is all Captain, dismissed." are the words he decides to say.

Later at his house he looks to the sky, he notices a streak of light in the sky which would seem to be a falling star though Gendo can't help but notice a green hue to the streak, something that feels familiar though somehow escapes his memory.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji, Saturday.

* * *

Not much was happening as Ray was merely sitting on his couch watching TV when his cell phone rang, the caller was Dexter McPhereson.

As Ray answered Dexter spoke without giving him a chance to even say hello, saying "What is this I hear about a 'Show of Force'. It's only because of our plans that I've not intercepted that pod which landed in North Korea which was most definitely carrying southern forces!"

Ray replied, saying "NERV attempted to strong arm me into being their little pet Shinjin for Project Zeus, I directly showed their attack dog Katsuragi Misato what I could do but it isn't enough. SEELE is secretly supplying nuclear materials to North Korea and has been for some time, to show them exactly what will happen if they make a serious move on Haruhi or Sasaki I made arrangements for their latest shipment to be lost in transit, as for the aftermath, there are plenty of places to hide three fighting machines."

Dexter sighed on the other end and said "Fine, but you could have used terrestrial methods, you do know that Mandark does under the table actions." Ray replied "I don't trust him, you may have patched things up with the guy but I have no inclination to trust him at all. The Martians are capable of a surgical strike and are able to hide themselves very well, this is not the first time I've done something like this and you know it." Ray hangs up, knowing the conversation isn't going to go anywhere and the decision was made and because of other treaties, Dexter was forced to let this happen though he did not exactly hate it as he had been looking for any excuse whatsoever to deploy DexCorp's peacekeeping branch to North Korea and put an end to their status as a nuclear power.

* * *

Eastern wilderness of North Korea, an installation not on the map.

* * *

A convoy made its way along a dirt path towards a supply base SEELE had secretly set up in the late 90s.

It consisted of more than just nuclear materials, they were also using the facility to develop and hold materials for Project Zeus though this information was still out of the IKR's reach, not that it would matter much more as directly affront of the convoy a large cylinder struct the ground with heavy force though not as much as it should have been for the size of the object, it should have decimated the terrain around them.

The Convoy however seemed to have information on what it was as they began firing at the pod only for little effect to happen.

After about 20 minutes a large metal screw dropped from the other end of the pod, likely having been opening for the duration of the attack and two large metal legs extended from the pod, as more shells fired at the target, this time specifically the legs which were hard to hit because of their thin construction though the few hits had no apparent affect.

A large, insect like head with two green bug eye styled windows walked out with it's third leg behind it making itself known, the larger target made the SEELE forces able to hit it more but still no signs of damage were known as the machine moved to turn and face the convoy, some weaponry hit the windows to no effect as well, most likely reinforced somehow, then the Machine's lone turret under it's main body fired an orange arc of energy which laid waste to it's targets.

The Heat Ray swept in a 90 degree arc, taking out half the convoy effortlessly as another Fighting Machine left the pod and engaged another SEELE force approaching from the opposite side, firing a canister from a top mounted artillery piece and though it hit with no explosion it released a black dust which began to kill the soldiers inside the cloud though suffocation and also began to wither away their bodies and equipment, the martians having used a potent chemical weapon which acted both like gas and acid, eating away more than 70% of personnel and 32% of tanks, trucks and other mechanical targets.

As both SEELE units were devastated a final and third Fighting Machine left the pod and the three formed a triangle around it, firing their heat rays and removing evidence of the pod from the area, leaving behind nothing but a charred crater and ashes.

The Fighting Machines continued their advance towards the nearby base and were met by a heavy barrage of missiles, cannon fire and in some cases even small arms fire from the soldiers. This time the sheer number of attacks damaged one of the Fighting Machines with a small tear in the main body's armor though nowhere near enough to eliminate it's mobility or fighting strength as the three machines in unison fired black dust canisters at the base and then discharged their heat rays against the defenses, clearing enemy after enemy, their common tactic with the heat ray was with single targets a short duration burst, against small groups they moved from victim to victim and against a large force they tend to sweep the beam in 90 degree arcs to cover a large berth, as if reaping the land with a scythe.

Standing 50 feet tall the fighting machines destroyed the base within 30 minutes, leaving no survivors to relay news of the attack, the Martians then proceeded to advance north towards the wilderness, presumably to remain hidden from the world until the time comes for them to attack again or return home.

* * *

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Mistake

"Sometimes even the most powerful of men make mistakes."

* * *

Two days later - POV - Ray Zenji

* * *

SEELE had been silent for a considerable amount of time, two days of no obvious activities meant that the raid on their little pet's base had perhaps made them appreciate caution which meant more time to secure the city from intrusion.

Ever since Ray infiltrated he increased the number of agents keeping an eye on the area and NERV's agents were on a shoot to kill basis, the last report indicated six of their operatives KIA with nothing remaining as evidence.

On a personal line Ray had been running diagnostic after diagnostic on his nanites to determine if anything was wrong and they work to design specifications with the exception of whenever Suzumiya Haruhi is concerned in which they report "Function Interrupted, Unidentified Cause.".

The fact that she was a Shinjin wasn't a possibility anymore as they worked fine whenever Sasaki was brought up into conversation and it couldn't be Haruhi or Sasaki messing with him as his nanites are embedded in his bloodstream, his muscles and skeleton, they are so intertwined with his biology that he could technically be called a cyborg as the machines work in perfect tandem with his immune system. By replicating the chromosomes and other features of what makes an object domestic to the body had been a perfected process for nanotech developments in the IKR, rejection was impossible as the body treated them as additional white blood cells.

They eliminated diseases the immune system wasn't able to triumph over and at the same time slowly infected cells without it spreading enough to cause symptoms so that the body would build up a natural immunity (if possible, silicon based viruses were simply removed from the body as the natural immune system cannot physically construct a resistance, it simply isn't possible.) and not become immune depressed (a common result of generation ships where centuries in a sterile environment degrades the immune system to the point where any natural environment, even the one the species originated from becomes toxic and inhospitable as millennia of evolution are undone by a few centuries of isolation.)

Whilst the immune response and AR Display (Augmented Reality) were not affected, it was limited only specifically to the emotion suppression systems and it finally dawned on him.

He had been using them for over 100 years, no doubt now his natural immune system has built up some kind of defense against the chemical solution but then again there was the neurological solution that remained in doubt. Not only did his nanites secrete non-toxic chemicals (drugs in effect) to suppress his pheromones and hormones associated with emotional display (such as anger, fear and lust, these became a non-possibility.) But as for the neurological method they actually absorbed and discharged from the body the electrical signals in the brain that result in these emotions and particularly the emotions not associated with chemistry (such as boredom which meant that no matter how dull a situation, Ray and others with this nanomachine system would never feel bored though boredom seemed to be suppressed even around Haruhi though not in part of the machines but simply because despite her extremely eccentric habits, Ray found her intriguing to say the least.)

Then he recalled again that they worked perfectly fine when Haruhi wasn't concerned which again brought up the thought that it could be his own subconscious having been repaired though he would notice if he was using closed space, perhaps his subconscious was enough to deactivate the emotion suppressants and reactivate them but then again that would be a recognizable cause with the nanites and their diagnostic result would have displayed the cause as "User Deactivation."

His thoughts were interrupted by Haruhi who knocked on Ray's head as he was so deep in thought it was like he was asleep with his eyes open.

Haruhi said "You there? It's your move.".

The two were playing a game of chess to pass the time, Ray wasn't completely bored though he was finding a lack of interest in anything else at the moment though boredom was so present in Haruhi's face she might as well be shouting it out loud for all to hear. Ray took a glance at the board and decided to finish the game as after four moves, Haruhi was placed into checkmate, again. This was the fifth time they played and score was Ray:5 Haruhi:0.

Haruhi however wasn't playing seriously, Ray had suggested the game and she couldn't think of anything else to do, class was 15 minutes away and the rest of the SOS-dan were busy or more specifically to Ray's knowledge.

Asahina Mikuru was possibly talking with her superiors.

Kyon's memories were restored for the moment, he was going over the details of a plan to show Haruhi that Ray was not an ordinary human, a necessary step to get her familiarized with the way the world truly is.

Koizumi was dealing with closed space which had formed in the west wing of the school though this was in reality Ray toying with him like a cat toys with a mouse, the closed space was created by Ray though he made it seem and resonate like Haruhi's regions of closed space simply to annoy him, Koizumi's real personality had once or twice clashed with Ray before he officially began getting involved in Haruhi's life (Every time before this long term operation had been clandestine, he was always in the shadows bribing the few fanatics who were willing to risk death to meet a fictional character after getting past the organization's security or if they didn't listen, they then disappeared, permanently. Only once had Ray used closed space in a serious manner to keep Haruhi safe and that was when the Canopy Dominion trapped the SOS-dan in a mansion in a blizzard, the region they created was slowly poisoning the SOS-dan and Ray used closed space to keep it from affecting Haruhi, Mikuru and Koizumi. Kyon had the same nanotech system Ray had so he was immune to even data based viruses and Nagato was capable of fighting them on her own.

Ordinarily Haruhi didn't like losing but she was still bored and didn't really care that she had lost five in a row, Ray decides to speak so as to alleviate her boredom, saying "If you're so bored that you keep losing intentionally then maybe we could do something after school." Haruhi replied "I doubt you're in the mood to just stargaze. I'm interested in looking at Mars, this is the time where it's at it's closest point to Earth so maybe we'll see some Martians."

Ray laughed openly, the nanites again failing to contain his emotions though as time passed, despite her eccentric nature, Haruhi had given him a good laugh or two when it came to some things. Haruhi was used to people laughing at the concept of life on Mars but for some reason she believed there could still be life there.

Ray was laughing because the reason humanity hadn't found the Martians yet was because they did not want to be found. They had no need to invade the Earth as the IKR was providing aid to avoid a disastrous war as the Western Martians possessed the proper technology to break though the blockade just enough to ransack the globe for a week before the IKR would be able to intervene heavily and the IKR was not above using biological weapons on the Martians if necessary as they had developed several chemical and biological weapons that only affect martian biology and have no effect on humanity though for now, there was peace.

Ray spoke plainly, saying "If there is life on Mars then they don't want to be found. NASA has a swarm of unmanned rovers there and they haven't found anything except fossils and then again that was contamination from previous probes. Quite honestly if there is sentient life there then they are underground."

Haruhi looked at Ray with a look of surprise, she never expected Ray to have such a degree of logic to his thinking. Indeed if life was present on Mars then they probably wouldn't want to be found by humanity who have a history of perpetual conquest and conflict in addition to also probably being forced underground to escape the hostile surface of the planet. Haruhi then said "If there is advanced life on Mars, do you think something like HG Wells' War of the Worlds could happen?"

Ray replied "Possibly, although if they invaded they would have taken microbes and bacteria into account. Possibly developing some kind of artificial vaccination to such problems or wouldn't move to Earth themselves, instead sending automated devices though with the way the world is now, they would more likely attempt a diplomatic solution first as we are less willing to fight wars in modern times though if you want my honest opinion, if they needed a place to survive they could just simply find the remote places of the Earth and keep out of our eyes for a very long time. Also there is the possibility that whilst Mars is inhospitable to us it doesn't necessarily mean it's inhospitable to them, life as we know it is not the only possible life out there, there could be alien races that exist in forms and manners that would challenge the very concept on what is necessary for life to exist. Not just silicon based life but also life that is pure energy, information based life and perhaps life that could survive in the vaccum of space."

Haruhi's boredom was starting to leave her as the conversation continued on as Ray seemed to be interested in things she was also interested in and he was also seemingly more open to the possibilities (although to him it wasn't possibilities, he had seen these things in his life and knew for a fact that they existed though Haruhi needn't know this just yet.)

Ray checked his watch and noticed it was only a couple of minutes until class and with that in mind he stood up and said "Class is in two minutes, care to meet me at the café after school? Even if it's not supernatural events there are some things around that are interesting even if they're not far fetched."

Haruhi merely nodded as the two proceeded to class, Ray's current emotional state being calm and tranquil though the nanites had nothing to do with this, for someone like Ray, this slice of a normal life was perhaps a vacation to somehow who deals with the unknown on a daily basis.

* * *

1 hour and 30 minutes later.

* * *

Ray was waiting in the café for Haruhi when Selvaria approached him and said "Is it ok if I sit here?"

Ray replied "I'm waiting for Haruhi though I don't mind. I can keep an eye out for her with my heightened senses and let you know when she gets close." Selvaria nodded and sat opposite to him and after a cup of tea decided to speak her mind, saying "May I ask what you intend to accomplish here? Not much progress goes on and although I recognize that this is a long term mission, I wish to know what your goals are."

Ray took a sip of tea and then said "I do honestly intend to have Haruhi and Sasaki join the ranks of the Praetorii but beyond that I'm not sure. The nanite clusters in my body normally inhibit emotions but for some reason Haruhi is defying those inhibitors. It can't be her doing or Sasaki's as Shinjin cannot directly affect the structure of another Shinjin and that includes anything in their bodies be it nutrients, nanites or in other cases, injuries such as bullets or swords. I keep wondering if my subconscious has been restructured, I do recall telling you about my situation in the month before we came here."

Selvaria nodded and replied "If I may speak freely, perhaps your emotions are coming out because you want them to but at the same time you're conflicted about whether they would inhibit your ability to function efficiently. That perhaps you're experimenting with your emotions and Suzumiya is the test subject, having been chosen because of her extreme level of emotion and her eccentric habits could stir various emotions such as anger or perhaps even fear."

Ray let the words sink in as Koizumi rushed in, Kyon was with him and Koizumi said "Haruhi has been kidnapped!"

Emotions stirred indeed within the Imperator as now anger took hold as he shouted "Who the hell was watching her?" Kyon replied "One of Koizumi's friends from school, he was subdued though he's still alive, albeit in the hospital with both his legs and arms broken in several places, judging from his account it was definitely orchestrated by either SEELE or the Valkyur."

Ray slammed what was left of his tea and sat up, Selvaria following suit as Ray said "Where is she now?" Kyon replied "DexCorp is tracking the vehicle, currently it's heading towards Tokyo, it hasn't left the city ye-".

Ray didn't stick around to listen, instead rushing out the door, tapping into the DexCorp satellite that is tracking Haruhi and he begins to rush in it's direction rapidly, ignoring the fact that Kyon had potentially revealed sensitive information to Koizumi as Haruhi's rescue was now on his mind, the satellite's sensitive sensors confirmed she was in the vehicle being tracked and it was now trying to be inconspicuous, playing along with traffic.

* * *

Ray was running across the street and was no longer hiding his nature, evading traffic by becoming intangible until he identified the vehicle where Haruhi was inside, the feeling of closed space popping up everywhere and it not being tied to him only confirmed someone had screwed up with security and he wasn't the only one after her as he noticed one of his Ghost operatives freerunning across the buildings in pursuit of the vehicle which was now picking up speed, likely having noticed Ray's pursuit.

* * *

POV Shift - Suzumiya Haruhi

* * *

Haruhi had her hands tied behind her back and recalled the moment they came.

She was on her way to meet Ray at the café when the van suddenly came and opened it's side door with several men in ski masks inside, one of them quickly pulled her in and another shut the door, ordinarily she would have fought back but they were armed with pistols.

A loud thump hit the back of the vehicle as it began to swerve and suddenly crashed into a street light, the armed men looked in the direction of the back door, guns ready.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Eyes glowing blue with psionic energy, Ray made a forward dash at the van, denting the back doors and forcing it into a street light, his eyes shifted their color to red from blue whilst still glowing bright enough where even in the broad daylight they made themselves apparent from the rest as a crimson flame began to form around him, resembling a Valkyur's powers only the flame was a crimson red and gave an aura of killing intent, Selvaria not far behind him saw this sight and recalled that the Valkyur had three ethnics within themselves and instead of being distinguished through physical appearances instead they were distinguished through their abilities.

The primary were simply the Valkyur, having cobalt flames and further divided between ordinaries and purebloods. Then where the Darscens in point of fact, being able to manifest not psionic abilities but rather intellectual abilities and were more resilient against the low ionizing effect of pure ragnite, something only acquirable in asteroids or deep inside a planet's mountains and thus they were inventors and miners by biological preference and were persecuted by the Valkyur only because of their lack psionic powers. Then there were the blaze from which Ray was descended from, not having been augmented with these traits but rather acquired them shortly after his time travel incident began, before learning that he was a Shinjin. The Blaze were on par with the Valkyur and manipulated crimson flames. Whilst the primary ethnic drew their power from pain or sacrificial desire, blaze valkyur drew their power from wrath and the desire to protect another.

They were commonly called Blazers instead of Valkyur and chose to withdraw themselves from Valkyur society when the Valkyur began to treat ordinary humans as slaves, if not for their brothers and sisters of the crimson flame, Earth would have been under Valkyur rule since ancient times and although their numbers began to decline over the years of the war they taught mankind how to use the strength of their numbers against the Valkyur, teaching them military formations and other Human Wave tactics that prevailed across the battlefields of old, the Blazers' only regret was not teaching their subjects peaceful coexistence with other men and soon after the war, saw mankind fall into the same darkness of self-conflict as they enslaved themselves, Rome, Greece and much later the descendants who had knowledge saw the atrocities across history increase with the times, reaching it's highest during the 30s and 40s until finally mankind learned it's lesson the hard way although they hadn't learned it completely as there was still infighting and discrimination in some parts of the world more than others.

Ray's wrath was noticeable to all present including innocent bystanders who were either petrified with shock and fear or running away from Ray who seemed to radiate energies with an aura that would make one think he was evil incarnate.

Other Kylandarian agents quickly cleared the scene by directing the crowds or acting as law enforcement officers and keeping others from entering whilst at the same Time Ray ripped the back doors from their hinges as gunfire erupted from the men inside, Haruhi screaming in pain and because of her bonds, she was unable to cover her ears, the pain being from the large orchestra of sound coming from the pistols which Ray recognized as TXP-10s, an old Transvaal sidearm not associated with any terran firearms manufacturer, state or private.

The bullets hit their target but lacked sufficient stopping power to even cause him to flinch as he dashed into the cluster, taking a barrage of gunfire and quickly began subduing the kidnappers with martial arts and although the bullets hit him, they caused no pain, his energies began pushing the metal slugs out of his body and closing his wounds at an astonishing rate, it would seem that he were immortal to ordinary individuals.

Two more remained and they suddenly erupted into a blue flame and simultaneously tackled Ray out of the van, leaving Haruhi under the Driver's security which was nothing as the freerunning ghost agent fixated himself on a nearby roof and with one shot, stunned the driver with a blue pulse round from a large sniper rifle which instead of a conventional firing chamber for ejecting spent cartridges had instead a lighted display which showed the energy level as a power bar, being blue in color.

Ray knew one thing, although this revelation was coming earlier than he wanted it and in a manner he didn't want to happen, he wouldn't expose Haruhi to death just yet and despite his obvious unmatched anger had maintained a calm and tactical mind, coordinating with his allies via nano-communication.

Selvaria used a energy-matter conversion device to form her sword and for the first time since beginning training with Ray, drew upon her power without injury and quickly engaged one of the Valkyur kidnappers, both moving and clashing blades at a pace which the naked eye couldn't keep track of, only pulses and shimmers of blue light erupting across the streets, rooftops and mid-air in some cases, Selvaria armed with a rapier and her opponent armed with a Ninjato (A short Katana commonly used by Shinobi.)

Ray on the other hand had formed a sword out of pure blazer psionic energy, the blade had a transparent look to it as if it were a red crystal covered in crimson flames in addition to having a crystalline design, it's blade jagged. His opponent was channeling his cobalt flames through a Ninjato and dueled with the blazer, seemingly enjoying the fight as he may have heard of the old stories of the blazers of the old times.

Barely a minute had passed as the intersection was mostly clear of civilians who no doubt would either have their silence bought or forced upon them by memory suppressing nano-injections, a common tactic used by the IKR to keep pre-FTL civilians in the dark about their existence.

Ray quickly slashed his blade in a windmill like motion, his position and his opponent's position being now on top of a building 10 stories up and adjacent to the van in which Haruhi walked out of the back, dumbfounded by her surroundings, the intersection was clear of onlookers, what seemed to be law enforcement were keeping others from entering and in a brief moment, she noticed the history teacher Selvaria Bles disarm and knock out with a roundhouse kick her opponent who was also one of the kidnappers. To her upper right she then heard a scream and to what seemed to be shock and horror in her mind, noticed Ray's windmill motion with his ethereal blade disarm his opponent, literally.

The hostile Valkyur's right arm dropped from it's shoulder onto the ground below, specifically on the sidewalk, the hole in his arm and on his shoulder cauterized by the heat of the psionic weapon used against him, there was no bleeding, it was like having a lightsaber slice it off.

The Valkyur however began to emit his flame around his body violently only for Ray to quickly grab his head and slam it into the ground hard enough to render the Valkyur unconscious, no Cobalt Sacrifice would be decimating Nishinomiya this day or any other.

* * *

Ray jumped down as a ghost agent of the IKR came to his side and began to take the unconscious assailant. He landed near the severed arm and his crimson flames began to settle and calm down, his eye color went from glowing red, to glowing blue, to their normal non-luminous dark brown shade as he looked in Haruhi's direction with a face which seemed both agitated and regretful.

Ray walked in her direction though he could tell by Haruhi's eyes and face that she was afraid, she was doing her best not to show it as Ray untied her arms and then said "Like the rest of the bystanders here, do you wish to forget what you've seen or do you feel you can remain emotionally stable despite what has happened here."

A discomforting silence filled the air as Selvaria calmed her cobalt flames as a ghost agent took care of the unconscious assailant she had defeated.

Haruhi replied "What will happen to them?" Ray replied "They will be detained and questioned for what their mission was, their affiliation and then an appropriate sentence will be passed once they go through a trial." Haruhi then said "What are you Raymond, tell me this at least."

Ray replied "I am many things. I guess by your definition of an esper then that is what I am though the more accurate term is a psionic. I also have dealt with time travel in the past so I am also a time traveler. My primary residence exists on another world 40 lightyears from here so I guess you could also call me an alien. More directly I am something known as a Shinjin but I can't discuss that with you as much as I would, not yet anyway though quite honestly despite all the things I can do, I still consider myself human as humanity lies not in our capabilities but in our DNA and spirit or more importantly, our origin. I was born here on Earth, I used to be, well technically I still am an American citizen though my emigration to Japan was valid it wasn't for the sake of education. I cannot explain everything to you yet, only know that I am what I am, we are what we are and the universe is what it is."

Haruhi pondered for a moment before saying "Will there be a day that you'll tell me everything?" Ray nodded and said "Yes, one day when you are ready for the truth, I'll tell you everything. I will say this Haruhi, the things you've been searching for are already around you, hiding in plain sight."

Haruhi replied "I want to say that I'll remain unchanged by what happened but I would only be lying to myself. I was kidnapped, saw you who I consider a friend brutally sever a man's arm. If you can make me forget this then please do so but under one condition." Ray replied "Name your condition."

Haruhi then said "Tell me or show me a little, that you're not an ordinary human once you've made all this hidden to history. Let me know that life isn't a one way street everyone is forced to walk until they suddenly fall off a cliff that even if they knew existed, were unable to stop at the edge to avoid falling."

Ray made an honest grin and said "Don't worry Haruhi, from everything I've seen and witnessed, life isn't like that. Although you won't remember this, I'll do my best to prove it to you."

* * *

The next day.

* * *

The incident didn't even make local news, TV stations were offline because of interference and thanks to the efforts of Koizumi's organization as well as Kyoko's organization (who wanted to keep a lid on things just as much, it was the only thing the two organizations agreed upon.).

To the world this incident never happened, sure some people knew about it but kept it to themselves, people who started talking suddenly found themselves with a case of amnesia.

Ray was honestly surprised at Haruhi's willingness to forget the incident though was also impressed slightly. Her decision to forget was a self-recognition of the fact that she wasn't ready for that part of the world, that she was still immature to an extent. She was on the path.

But Ray was impatient with gathering the information he wanted, he had trained the kidnappers of their memories (a process leaving them like children, forcing them to learn everything from the ground up, their knowledge reduced to the level of a 6 year old, their memories were actually removed, not suppressed in this case and unless someone told them, they could never get them back and as such were now in the mental care of the IKR who now was in an extremely hostile position with the Valkyur Regency and the Transvaal Empire. The Valkyur and Transvaal had made an uneasy alliance to match the numbers and territory of the Imperial Kylandarian Republic in order to accomplish an agreement. Suzumiya Haruhi would be kidnapped and given to the Valkyur so they could try and place her in their version of the prophecy's goddess' role and if they couldn't they would take more direct means such as suppressing her memories. In any event, they had failed to go unnoticed in addition to failing their objectives and to make matters worse the IKR refused to extradite them as the Firstworld Doctrine (and in extent, the actual treaty with the Transvaal Empire and Valkyur Regency) meant that violators were not under extradition obligations and extradition would be sheer courtesy which was something Ray had no intention of showing the two powers after this stunt they pulled, the fleet allotacation for the Terran Defense Fleet was tripled, border patrols doubled and the entire Kylandarian military placed on alert. The tensions with these two sides was the same as the tensions during the Cuban missile crisis between the US and Soviet Union during 1962, war could happen in a second and sooner or later, Earth would become involved either directly or indirectly.

Haruhi interrupted Ray's thoughts once more, having finished her tea, the two were at the café with Haruhi having had the incident before blanked out, the story fed to her was that she tripped and fell down a flight of stairs and hit her head hard enough to give her amnesia regarding half of the day which Ray claims she spent at the hospital with the SOS-dan visiting her whilst she was unconscious. A medical report and everything had been forged to provide evidence and the hospital was in fact the same one Kyon had spent some time in following the reality shifting incident caused by Nagato Yuki some time ago which made it easy for the story to be made as members of Koizumi's organization (which Ray refers to as Pro-Haruhi which is a name the group dislikes as it implies they are some kind of fanatical cult.) who were staff and doctors there took care of any questions as if she were there in addition to her waking from her memory suppressing process in that hospital to further the story.

Her first sight when she woke was Ray who was sitting in a chair next to her hospital bed reading a book with a title Haruhi didn't recognize as it was in latin.

Back to the café, Haruhi had wanted to make up for lost time and her usual cheerful exterior had returned.

Ray spoke, saying "Ah, sorry, lost in thought again. So you wanted to what, visit some old mansion in the mountains?" Haruhi nodded and said "Good you were listening. There's a supposedly haunted mansion which was built atop the tomb of some chimera queen from the 1500s and that her spirit roams the grounds as an Onryo. I want to check it out with you on Saturday. Koizumi seems to be busy with work that day, Kyon is busy with a visit from his grandparents and Mikuru simply said she wasn't available. Nagato has something planned with the computer research club. Ordinarily I'd pull her from it but then again it's a good idea to keep an eye on their president so he doesn't try to pull some stupid prank or something on the SOS-dan so it'll just be the two of us."

Ray replied "If the rumors are about an Onryo then why would you want to bother it, stories about Onryo aren't exactly nice." His thoughts however were not in line with his words, his thoughts went more like "Oh shit, why there of all places. I am not looking forward to a reunion with Kasane Teto."

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Afterword: I will be focusing on this story and another that I'm going to put out called Repeating Cycle so if any of you who are reading this have also been reading and following my other stories such as An Ordinary Human and The Hero meets a half-breed they will be put on hold until Repeating Cycle is finished (I plan on it being short.) As for False Gods, it will continue to proceed and anyone who has read another story on hold, The Immortals, knows what I'm talking about in regards to Kasane Teto.

till next time - Kylandor


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Silent War

"Sometimes, Ignorance is bliss."

* * *

Ray's temporary residence, 3:35 AM

* * *

Ray sighed at the picture of the so called haunted mansion that Haruhi had given him a while ago, although Ray could push himself with sleepless nights thanks to his nanotech augments he still was preparing for the worst.

The story goes as this, or rather went in reality as this as Ray was there when it happened.

Kasane Teto (whose name and appearance would coincide with a fictional character though whether or not the fictional character was based upon the legend is known only by the character's designer.) was a chimera queen, effectively a Terrestial Alien race as many people have long thought mankind to be alone on this Earth when in fact they were not, they were merely the first.

The Chimera were predominant across all of Eurasia from Spain and the british isles to Japan and more specifically Kobe and Nishinomiya where their queen dwelled.

A Chimera Queen is a dominant female sub-group of the chimera that is treated as a ruling hierarchy much like Valkyrian purebloods. Chimera Queens are rare but always female hence the word queen being part of their identity as a sub-species. Chimera Queens are not capable of asexual reproduction though certain genetic markers ensure all children they bare are female which would have been an extinction trait if not for their extreme rarity though at the same time it is directly passed on.

In short a Chimera Queen will always birth an heir and this is why their society was a matriarchal structure as opposed to the majority of races which have a patriarchal structure. Further simplified means they held women as the stronger caste and men as the weaker caste, effectively amazons in a sense by culture.

Their traits as a species aside the personal story of Kasane Teto is either a heroic one or a sorrowful one depending on your point of view.

Long ago in the early 1800s or more specifically during the year of 1812 AD Kasane Teto, the last Chimera Queen had been sought out by the son of a Daiymo who belonged to a clan now shrouded in history, forever forgotten is it's name which led some to tell the story calling them the Nameless which ironically to Ray's point of view is what their name in Kanji translated to.

This man had developed a lustful interest in her and she repetitively rebuffed his advances to the point where he hired a group of mercenaries and "coerced" three Shinto Priestesses to force Teto to either accept his advances or face a 500 year imprisonment.

As the story goes Teto committed suicide to avoid either fate but in reality this was a ruse to convince the obsessed prince to believe his target was dead or more directly to say that her death was faked.

Ray had been there as one of the mercenaries and was described as a demon who convinced Teto that suicide was the preferable option though in reality this was told for two reasons.

The fact that he wasn't Japanese though at the same time foreigners had contact with Japan by this time though also true the prince wanted to disdain the mercenary. The second reason was the more obvious reason, his powers as a Blazer made it seem that he was a demonic entity, how else would a superstitious man view someone who can wield unnaturally red flames as indeed most cases of magic and witchcraft were psionics or surviving blazers, stranded Valkyur or other terrestrial alien races such as the chimera.

Although the chimera queens are always female the dominance factor applies because they have three times the raw power of the rest of their race which put them on par with Valkyur purebloods or Blazers pushed to their "Grim Reaper" state, a state that is the blaze version of the cobalt sacrifice only instead of unleashing the energies around them in a devastating explosion it instead acts as a berserker state, pushing the body past it's ordinary physical limits to the point where their skin temporarily darkens due to a constant burning and healing (The skin burns itself off because of the unrestrained heat and at the same time the state augments healing to the point where the skin isn't melted off but rather merely becomes extremely hot and in some cases emits a foul smelling steam which smells like a corpse hence the Grim Reaper identification in addition to the fact that the majority of the blazers who just became aware of the name it was given decided to use psionic weapons like Ray's Ethereal Blade only in the form of a scythe and hence used man's fear of the personification of death to keep certain individuals in line.).

Another aspect and the one that matters to Ray at this moment is that Chimera's don't age as fast as humans do, even more so for chimera queens. Life expectancy for a chimera ordinary is 300 years, a chimera queen could live up to 2000 years old and this is without nanotech systems.

Ray was updating a device which looked like a digital watch where it also served as a matter-energy converter as although Kasane Teto viewed Ray as a friend there is the possibility she might react negatively to Haruhi's presence as Teto is distrustful of humanity.

* * *

7:35 PM, the next day

* * *

Haruhi was present alongside Ray though it was just the two of them.

Ray was dressed in a brown leather bomber jacket, black sweats and a black T-shirt underneath the jacket which was unzipped. Haruhi was dressed in her school uniform (Her excuse was that she was too busy with planning the trip to change into casual clothing.) and had a backpack presumably filled with snacks, water and perhaps a camera.

Ray hadn't packed much though he now realized what Haruhi's intentions were. She intended to stay the night there hoping to catch the glimmer of a ghost whilst Ray knew all too much that Teto was alive and well and this place was her home and rumors were spread to give her solitude.

Entering the home Ray noticed some signs of damage that whilst were consistent with an abandoned mansion were regardless recently inflicted which caused Ray to scan the area with his eyes more obviously as Haruhi noticed Ray's caution and also a hint of tension.

Haruhi however misinterpreted it as fear and said "I'm sure you'll be fine, if there really is a ghost here then hopefully they will be friendly." Ray sighed and said "That's not my concern though at the same time do you have any idea what an Onryo is? They are not friendly, they are vengeful spirits."

Haruhi seemed to brush this off and replied "I'm pretty sure it's a misunderstanding. Most people tend to fear the unknown and give most mysteries a bad name when the truth is most likely something completely different." Ray replied "I'm well aware of that but regardless the world isn't all sunshine and flowers, there are things that are dark and you should count every day you haven't been exposed to it."

Haruhi replied "I'm aware we don't live in a perfect world but I'm also hopeful that mankind can rise above it's weaknesses and build the utopia so many dream about." Ray turned his attention to Haruhi, deciding to crush her optimism as he felt a feeling of annoyance at her naiveté, saying "It's good to have hope but the fact is that everyone pursues an utopia and the differences in opinion on what utopia is leads to the fact that it is impossible for man to build the perfect world, we can only strive for a dystopia, a world that seems perfect but only because those who operate in the shadows keep it standing. Necessary evils exist in the world Haruhi, you should learn to accept that sooner or later before you're forced into a position where you have no choice but to accept it. Remember this phrase, Apathy is Death."

Haruhi stares at Ray for a moment in silence, her face both shocked slightly and also possibly disturbed as here was someone her age who had a darker outlook on the world, someone who seemingly has given up hope for a better future.

She then speaks, saying "If that's what you believe then why bother to have hope at all? By your logic hope is then only wishful thinking and no matter how hard we want it to, the world will never change. I can't agree with that mindset." Ray replied "You misunderstand. I am not saying there is nothing we can do, I'm saying we have to take action in order to cause change. Apathy is Death but Motion is Life. Without positive actions and influences you cannot change the world for the better and at the same time there are situations where you have to let a little darkness into your heart in order to survive or protect others. I suppose I have hope for the future but only because I know that by taking action that the dystopia we live in now can be refined to the point where there are few if any necessary evils. There is a way I could explain this in greater detail but you would probably be offended by the reference."

Haruhi crossed her arms and said "Try me."

Ray sighed and said "Alright, fine. The Nuclear Bomb is what I'm talking about. It can be seen as a necessary evil as though it was built to destroy it can also be used for more practical purposes such as a nuclear sail which is in general setting off a nuclear bomb between a spaceship and a large foil of sorts to absorb the energy as a propulsion method. In effect it creates motion in space and harnesses it for a positive difference. I'm not saying this justifies what happened in 1945 but regardless it opened the door for more efficient space exploration. Granted that we could have developed this technology without dropping bombs on cities but the past has already happened, we can only move forward and learn from our mistakes because that is how humanity makes progress, through trial and error. We make mistakes and then we learn from them and hope they never are repeated and more than hope, steps are taken to prevent them from happening again. Nobody who is sane would seek out another Nazi Germany or Soviet Union but regardless these events have happened, all we can do is learn from them, good and bad and filter them."

Haruhi felt a strange feeling, a burst of confusion that could best be explained as a mindblow. Haruhi assumed Ray's first statements had meant he had abandoned hope but his response here had shown that he can find the silver lining in even the worst of evils and has hope that the evil can be filtered out and the silver lining isolated and applied but what began to show was that he was an entirely different person than he lets on because once you get him talking he becomes descriptive and logical and at the same time accept human nature as a positive factor.

Haruhi then decided to speak, saying "I see, so in short you haven't given up hope, that even if something seems evil beyond all reason there is still some greater good to come out of it." Ray nods and says "Perhaps you should read the holy bible and the works of the saints. Regardless of how you put it there is in the realm of science an extremely high probability that there is a God. Believe what you will but the evidence is there, I don't need to be a genius to figure it out but at the same time the more we learn and study about the origin of the universe the more it becomes clear that without some kind of external stimuli the universe could never have been born and the most simplified answer is God. Now whether or not he is everything any specific religion could point him out to be or something beyond our comprehension in this life is known only to him. We can try to reach for the sky but in the end gravity will always put us back on the ground but at the same time with external assistance we can overcome gravity. I'm not saying that you shouldn't fear death or embrace it but rather I'm saying that when the time comes you should accept it but also realize the difference between when it is your time and when there is a way to survive otherwise impossible odds."

Haruhi had listened though realized Ray had left his train of thought from the original topic, once you got him talking, you get him talking.

* * *

11:37 PM

* * *

Ray was correct, Haruhi intended to spend the night here as she unpacked a lantern, a blanket and a variety of snacks.

Letting out a sigh Ray then said "If you planned on staying the night you should have packed two blankets and two pillows and also you should have told me. Haruhi replied "You can't catch a ghost without staying up all night, there's some soda in the bag, I didn't have a cooler so no ice." Ray sighed as he was going to be up all night a second time.

After 30 minutes there was a slight clattering sound nearby which caught both Ray and Haruhi's attention as the latter than began to dig around the backpack for a camera whilst Ray cautiously kept an eye in the direction of the sound.

Haruhi darted right past him, leaving him slightly dumbfounded at her rush into the unknown and pursued at her pace as the air began to warm up slightly as Ray sensed a familiar psionic energy though it was not Teto's.

Entering the corner Haruhi stared dumbfounded at the sight facing her.

A woman, silver haired like Selvaria along with crimson red eyes which were glowing in the dark, her outfit seemed alien as it was a full ragnite armoring which seemed to thus self-radiate itself slightly as if under a dim blue light, the tone of the armor itself was slightly cyan but it was a very light cyan, the woman's facial expression changed when she looked at different people, at Haruhi she seemed neutral but when she glanced in Ray's direction she seemed to radiate scorn and hate.

She spoke, saying "So you've taken a personal involvement with this have you Ray? It explains why we've had so much trouble lately but I must ask why you would be so interested in such a primitive culture. All we want is the goddess, we have no interest in the firstworld so turn her over and we can avoid a rather nasty scuffle."

Her hair began to radiate a slight blue hue with the white as cobalt flames erupted around her as Ray grabbed Haruhi by the arm and threw her in the direction of where they came from whilst shouting "Run!"

Haruhi recovered from the throw 8 feet away and no longer able to see the two because they were around the corner of the hall. Haruhi heard a pulsing sound followed by what seemed to be metal clashing against metal and ran back to where Ray was only to see a gaping hole in the wall to the right.

Ray materialized his pulseblade (A Katana with a plasma bonding system when allowed it to safely channel along the blade without damaging it but at the same time slicing through everything else.) which glowed green in the night whilst the Valkyria shone blue in the night as the flames engulfed around a ragnite longsword as she charged forward to engage Ray in combat. Standing his ground Ray deflected the blows sent at him and evaded others before beginning a counterattack, striking fast and true with his sword and attempted to disarm his opponent by using his sword to grab the hilt of his opponents sword and fling it out of her hands only for the Valkyria to see his strategy and evaded his thrust instead of parrying it and noticed that Suzumiya Haruhi, the goddess she was referring to (Though this fact was most likely not in Haruhi's mind) watching in awe as what should have been just a classmate much like her was fighting with some kind of advanced energy weapon against what could only be described as a female knight wielding magic.

Ray released the inhibitors on his nanite's combat functions and his eyes turned red as he let anger flow through him, once again taking on his blazer powers in full and the clash of red and blue energies produced a purple energy whenever the Valkyur's blade clashed with Ray's now red hued Katana.

Sending a three way slash combo Ray pressed the offense further so as to deprive his opponent of an opportunity to strike or escape and it was at this moment he noticed that Haruhi was watching. Ray quickly changed his fighting stance and dashed to the side which put him between Haruhi and the Valkyria who noticed immediately that Ray was now fighting differently, perhaps because he didn't want the goddess to witness a death.

With this fact in mind the Valkyria struck with an offensive stance with a confidence that she couldn't lose because of Ray's emotional reaction. Ray deflected or evaded attacks as the battle became faster paced to the point where Haruhi was having a hard time keeping her eyes on the two as evasions or strikes occurred nearly instantly. Ray parried an attack and unleashed a counter attack, striking with a surge of energy that encased his blade with an ethereal blade as he made a slight jump and then began to spin rapidly using his psionic energy to accelerate him into the spin with his sword extended.

Like a whirlwind Ray's sword began hitting his opponent's blade 30 times per second for 10 seconds (A total of about 300 impacts) which caused such force on the Valkyria's blade that the final slash sliced clean through it despite the fact that it was being charged with psionic energy. Ray now had the upper hand and altered the appearance of his sword to where it had blunt edges though the tip was sharp, it was more of a short sword now and the center was cut out as if it where some kind of rail. Ray surged electricity through it and began to attack once more and managed to land a hit on the Valkyria's armor which sent a massive surge of electricity through the armor and knocked his opponent into a semi-conscious state. The Valkyria then said "Sooner or later those you surround yourself with will learn the truth, you're ambition is matched only by your stubborn desire to find the impossible.".

With those words the Valkyria fell unconscious, Ray sighed and as Haruhi approached cautiously said to the unconscious Valkyria "You have no idea what is and isn't possible..."

Haruhi tapped Ray on the shoulder which in turn caused him to reply, saying "Any impressions?" Haruhi didn't show the same fear she did the first time she saw Ray's powers more likely because it wasn't his powers he was afraid of, it was the fact that he fought without restraint last time (Severing someone's arm possibly had something to do with it.).

Haruhi replied "The lightshow aside I'm more interested in what this woman meant by the goddess and what your relationship is with her." Ray replied "She is a Valkyur, a terrestrial human group who developed incredible psionic power so very many years ago and are now best described as an Extraterrestrial Psionic human group now because all those years ago they left the Earth fleeing a great war. As for her personally I don't know her, never seen her before but it's most likely she's just a covert operative or a foot soldier. As for this goddess she mentioned, I can't tell you."

Haruhi's face pouted slightly as she said "And why can't you tell me?" Ray replied "Classified Information, perhaps one day I'll tell you when the dust settles but until then just remember the saying Ignorance is Bliss.".

Haruhi sighed and said "Well are you just going to leave her there or do you have something planned?" Ray replied "Someone will come and make sure she is taken someplace where she can't cause trouble anymore. As for any questions about me well let's say it's a combination of advanced technology, genetic modifications and my own natural genetic abilities which result in psionic abilities although I guess you would probably attribute this to what you've known as espers though quite literally ESP is only sensory, it's not manipulation of your environment it's the awareness of your environment although I do have heightened senses so I guess technically I'm an esper as well. It's a rather complicated story."

Haruhi was silent for a moment before saying "Is there anyone else here with you?" Ray replied "Four others, one has been here for several years and the other three came recently. I would really like to head back now, we were lucky the onryo you wanted to find wasn't here and to clear something, the chimera queen didn't die, rather her death was faked and she has been alive all this time, life expectancy is 2000 years, she is over 385 right now and would very much rather be left alone."

Haruhi sighed and decided that despite his previous long conversations he was surprisingly tight lipped now, specifically when it came to these new revelations and thus she probably wasn't going to get much more today.

Haruhi then said "Fine, at least we'll have a good story to tell when we get back." Ray replied "No, we won't. I understand why you'd rather start yapping away about what happened but it's best that you don't. It's not a matter of nobody will believe you or that people will start coming after you, it's more of an issue to keep Earth in the dark about this to avoid this silent war becoming a real war." Haruhi had a slightly puzzled face which prompted Ray to speak, saying "Basically, there are groups who would take what you say seriously and if they do then a lot of necessary evils are going to happen and I wont mince words, a full scale invasion of Tokyo is among the possibilities and consequences of rash action or speech."

Haruhi's expression changed completely as Ray finished speaking, she felt a combination of shock and disgust as she said "And who would be the invader?" Ray replied "A Galactic Power of which I hold a rather high office in, if you wanted a simple answer, Me. I would be the one invading and it would be for a very good reason, it would be concentrated on one target specifically, a surgical strike, in the event that someone important is kidnapped by a clandestine and possibly illegal paramilitary organization. In such an event I will spare nothing at ensuring they cannot go full circle with their plans which are likely already being carried out. I would sooner expose Earth to the harsh reality that is the Milky Way Galaxy rather than risk that individual from being turned into something devoid of free will and human rights, something seen only as a weapon. If you disagree with how far I will go then that is your right but I will not change what must be done if things go too far and based on what you've seen you should know that you are powerless to prevent it and more specifically that what you've just seen isn't even the tip of the iceberg, it's just the very slight cold chill you get when near the iceberg rather than any actual part of it."

Haruhi decided not to reply, Ray's facial expression was extremely serious to a level she had never seen him at before and after a short moment of silence the two went their respective ways to their respective homes in silence.

* * *

Ray's current Temporary residence, 1:18 AM

* * *

Ray sighed, he was feeling tired from both two full nights without sleep and fighting a Valkyria while taking an effort to hold back from slaughtering her (On a side note his ghosts had reported no problems in retrieving the valkyria and placing her in a small cell on a cloaked ship in orbit of Mars.).

As he closed the door behind him and locked it he proceeded directly up the stairs to his room and noticed as he opened the door that the light was on and his closest friend Laura Kylani was sitting in a chair reading a book prior to closing it and putting it back on the desk nearby when Ray entered.

Ray as he moved towards his bed said "If you're going to tell me to take it easy then give up on it, I've already expended a good deal of stamina mainly because-"

Laura interrupted, saying "Because you've had no sleep for two full days and on top of that still have to manage the big issues that come to your AR Display. Ray you should activate my status as Epsilon if you're going to give your full attention to this mission. I can handle the day-to-day things for you."

Ray replied "You're probably right but that would mean a lot more work on you, beating a bunch of high schoolers into shape as a Gym teacher and at the same time managing all the paperwork and the constant chaos that is the Kylandarian Senate. There's a reason it's an Imperial Republic because without a strong leadership in place the senators would turn on eachother in a mad scramble for power." Laura replies "I can handle the senate, I kind of think they get along with me better than they do with you but that's because they don't know you like I do. I know everything you've been through and I've been gone through the exact same thing because we went through those hard times together. Everywhere you go I follow, when I cant be there to help you directly I've always done what I could from behind or in the shadows. No one can bear the burden of ruling a galactic superpower alone and expect to stay content."

Ray waved his hand in a shooing motion whilst saying "I know, I know. This isn't the first time you've lectured me on taking it easy. Believe it or not I do take a vacation in a while and right now the real reason I'm here is because of necessity, we're dealing with two Shinjin which means I can't afford to cut corners and at the same time we're about to be in a war with two major powers and possibly a bunch of smaller factions as well."

Laura sighed and said "You're really stubborn, you do realize that right?" Ray chuckles a bit and said "You know I am, how else could I have kept running straight into gunfire for someone who was an absolute stranger the first time that cult went after her." Laura replied "Back then you were more careful and wary because back then you actually had something to fear from a bullet or a knife." Ray then said "Yeah but I was still a little reckless, I never bothered to remember how many times you've had to stitch up knife cuts and bullet holes because I exposed myself to unnecessary risks in combat."

Laura sat up and was seemingly headed for the door to leave before stopping near it to speak, saying "The past aside, you do know that I'll move mountains for you. If someone who cares about you offers to help then you should consider it, you're used to having everything resting on your actions but the truth is I'm not the same scared teenager I was back then. You know that much." Ray replies "I know, it's not that I'm underestimating you or don't trust you it's just that I'd rather not place too much a burden on you. You and you alone have been the only person I've trusted enough to use telepathy with because the link is always two way, You know what I know and I know what you know." Laura nods her head and lets a smile whilst saying "I'm well aware of that, but just as you don't want me to have too much on my shoulders I too don't want you carrying the entire universe on your back. Get some sleep, I'll always be nearby if you need me."

Ray nodded as she left, Laura was someone he trusted his life with and was the only person he trusted his life with.

Ray then turned off the light, taking a quick scan around the perimeter of the house to make sure the doors were all locked though let sleep claim him instead of making a more complex scan around the area.

* * *

As Laura exited the house at night, in the distance and outside of Ray's short scan was the one known as Fujiwara, with him was a camera and he had a grin on his face as words took form in his mind.

"Regardless of anything else, these photos of her leaving there is enough to blackmail them as after all, whenever something like this gets out people always assume there's an improper relationship between student and teacher, history has been the judge of that for so many cases."

* * *

POV Shift - Selvaria Bles

* * *

Reading a variety of books had become a hobby for Selvaria and she had a rather sizable personal collection in her new residence, all ranging from science fiction to fantasy to horror. Selvaria continued to feel conflicted the more she thought about her heritage. The Valkyur were a nation of fanatics who had no problem with enslaving other humans or committing genocidal attacks in times of war, Selvaria found herself feeling alienated by her own people and tried very hard to remember that Ray had assured her that whilst it seems the majority of the Valkyur are very horrible individuals regardless it is only the ruling house that has this mindset.

As more time passed a feeling came over her, as if some kind of omen that something troublesome was about to happen.

* * *

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Emotions

"Many believe suppressing your emotions can lead to a more prosperous existence. Many have no concept on human nature."

* * *

POV - Fujiwara - Flashback

* * *

Kyon had jumped out the window in pursuit of Haruhi and quite rapidly after that Fujiwara noticed Koizumi moving forward and on instinct activated his TPDD, barely escaping vaporization by pissed off esper and before he could get his surroundings he felt a painful feeling which blacked his vision out and sent him unconscious. He had sent himself back to the future that was 100 years past these events and thought that time was going to destroy him. He let his consciousness drift away, hoping that his sister would at the least survive.

He woke to an even worse nightmare.

* * *

2110 A.D. Nishinomiya, Quarantine Zone.

* * *

He woke up in a pile of rubble, pain in his left leg told him that he fell on some broken glass and the sun was high and bright but the city around him was lifeless, torn to pieces with shards of glass, broken concrete and collapsed buildings. Despite what should be devoid of human intervention there was no sign of vegetation around him aside from seemingly dead trees without leaves and with signs of burns.

Suddenly a rush of memories hit him, it was unusual until he realized that someone was feeding him information, someone like Haruhi.

This was a timeline nobody could have predicted, in which SEELE had come out of the shadows and managed to kidnap Haruhi for their Zeus Project on which the general chasis was based on old military designs which were originally for mobile nuclear deployment and in this timeline a galactic war erupted and Earth was caught in the crossfire with a combination of Transvaal Nuclear Bombardment and Valkyur Ion Bombardment (Of which had the same blast yield due to their psionic powers.)

A figure approached from the distance, Fujiwara squinted to make out his features only to notice it was a woman, probably 22 in age.

She got closer and it became apparent that she was being followed by two others and their faces became known to him.

Selvaria Bles, unaged despite 100 years.

Raymond Zenji, his biological age was now 25 years of age instead of 16 or 17.

Laura Kylani, 22 years old biologically.

Selvaria said "There's a survivor here!" but Ray replied "No, he's a temporal enigma, I guess that part slipped the minds of what should have been. I've already drafted the knowledge of what happened to him. Stand up appropriately Asahina Hakeda. Your country, your world, your entire life no longer exist but I'm willing to give you a chance to correct your mistakes which led to this bleak future."

Fujiwara, whose real name was known to this person who had no meaning to him other than a historical footnote as the man who discovered a cure for cancer alongside an alien who should be dead and someone who was merely a missing person's report.

He stood up and said "Who are you people, why are you even alive in this age?" Ray replied "All in good time, meanwhile you should take note that you overtaxed your TPDD, I've sealed the tear for you but you'll never use that device again though you don't need to as there are safe methods of time travel, the TPDD is a path my nation could have taken but found a more stable method, simple yet effective."

Hakeda/Fujiwara replied "What of my actions? What has happened here, where are the cars and people? This place looks like the aftermath of a nuclear strike."

Laura sighs and says "It is the aftermath of a nuclear strike. Although most places were decimated by the Transvaal Empire in 2012 this city specifically was destroyed by your sister, Asahina Mikuru in a failed effort to stop SEELE's weapon of mass destruction, Zeus. Sadly she along with the city were atomized as Zeus managed to be unscathed because of a closed space shield it deployed."

Ray then says "Haruhi survived your little murder attempt but in carrying out your plan you weakened both the IDTE and Canopy Dominion to the point that SEELE was able to breach the blockade and got their way with Haruhi. I will be sending you back to rectify your mistake. More specifically I will be transferring your consciousness into your past self, just before you ordered Kuyou to drop Haruhi from 30 feet tied to a cross as some sick joke. Accomplish this and you will be making a new timeline in where your sister not only just might live, but also have the right memories though keep in mind it will put the Asahina you met 100 years ago in your position, out of place in a timeline alien to her. Meaning there will be two Asahina Mikurus in the world, or rather three if you count her younger self."

Fujiwara processed this information in his mind as Ray then said "I will provide some assistance in the event where Kuyou carries out her action anyway."

Fujiwara merely nodded as Ray activated some type of device on his lower arm and to Ray's POV, left Fujiwara's body dead and lifeless, Ray then used closed space to send himself back in full, leaving his companions behind in hopes that they will have more peaceful lives than the galactic war that they've known for so long.

* * *

SOS-dan Clubroom, Closed Space generated by both Haruhi and Sasaki, 2010 AD, Nishinomiya.

* * *

Ray's aim must have been off because Haruhi was already hovering over the ground though had not yet been slightly altered with the "symbol" Fujiwara wanted to use to demoralize his opponents.

Suddenly he shouted to the surprise of all present, mostly Mikuru, saying "Hold it! Don't kill her just yet!" Kuyou however replied "I have recognized your change in brain chemistry so as such I will continue. Fujiwara was about to move when a blue rift opened between him and Kuyou, dashing out that rift was a figure in a black armor with a fullface helmet linked, his entire skin line armored and he immediately erupted into the fires of a blazer with a non-transparent psionic blade, this blade was significantly more powerful than anything he may have been able to use 100 years ago.

Ray acted in two moves, he first sliced off Kuyou's left arm and then as gravity began to act on Haruhi he broke through the window, grabbed her hand and she disappeared, Ray then stood in midair as if on some invisible platform facing in Kuyou's direction.

Kuyou's facial expression seemed to become evident just as before when she mentioned it would have been difficult to carry out the kill order but suddenly it was neutral, as if she was talking to Ray in a non-verbal manner.

Kuyou merely said "Understood." and disappeared. Koizumi was about to unleash his psionic energy on Fujiwara only for him to suddenly lose his powers and he became aware that neither Haruhi nor Sasaki was in control of the closed space anymore.

Ray then said "This man needs to live just a little longer, I'll be sending him back further to ensure certain incidents happen but as for any concern of Suzumiya Haruhi, she is simply sleeping in her own room right now, completely unaware she was nearly killed." Mikuru then said "And just who are you or rather what are you?" Ray grinned under his mask though the others couldn't notice that as his helmet covered his face as he said "Soon I will no longer exist, I'll deactivate the temporal barrier around me soon and I'll disappear, whatever alternate version of myself will be me, without my memories or experience though some necessities will be carried out by the one you know as Fujiwara. Also make no changes to the little cover-up you have running around, I'll let you all know how it should have played out if I didn't intervene and as for Kuyou Suou, she is no longer hostile towards Haruhi and has been given proper communication skills now."

With those words he whisked Fujiwara to another time only he knew and then disappeared himself as time was allowed to correct his memories and experiences.

* * *

Present, Night, POV - Fujiwara/Asahina Hakeda

* * *

All those memories in mind though still he did not trust this individual, neither his previous timeline incarnation nor this current incarnation, his focus right now was to try and keep something to blackmail the woman more than the man as he was fully aware that Ray was a Shinjin both here and then though at the same time he would try and make sure not to create a future worse than what he knew and he would have only this chance as his TPDD whilst still functional was only good for about three more short jumps or one long jump and once that was done, whatever time he was in at that moment he would live the rest of his life in.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji, The Next Day

* * *

She wouldn't shut up.

Question after question Ray was now enduring from Suzumiya Haruhi whose usual carefree attitude had turned into an endless barrage of questions.

"Where are you from?"

"What are you capable of?"

"Who was this goddess that woman spoke about?"

In the clubroom she continued to ask the questions but seemingly was honoring Ray's wish to keep things under wraps as she only barraged him with questions when they were alone and the sheer annoyance followed by his lack of emotional control thanks to whatever reason was causing it had pushed him over the edge as he suddenly shouted back "I will answer your questions in my own damn time! There is a reason I won't answer them now and even that will me made clear later!"

He put emphasis on the word later and Haruhi stared silently with a hostile gaze but also felt a slight tremor of fear, his face was irritated in anger at her constant questioning.

Ray sighed and said "Ordinarily my emotions are suppressed by nanites but for some reason the suppression isn't working anymore. So don't push it. I had planned on showing you a bit of my capabilities at a different time but the Valkyria forced my hand. Right now specifically you're too immature to handle the information you want."

Haruhi pouted slightly and then asked yet another question, one that caught Ray off guard.

"Are you really 17 years old?"

Ray stared back for a bit before replying "Yes and no." Haruhi then said "Explain." Ray sighed and said "Physiologically I am seventeen right now but chronologically I'm 522 years old. The nanites may not be suppressing my emotions but they can suppress my aging and alter my physical appearance to a certain extent. In short I can control how old I appear to be and it's very useful for infiltration."

Haruhi replied "Then what the hell are you doing in a high school?"

Her tone of voice added with her expression annoyed Ray, she was questioning his moral integrity and so he replied in kind, saying with a sarcastic tone of voice "Oh that? I'm here for a girl I guess." Haruhi saw through his sarcasm and said as if deducing a fact "So then this goddess the Valkyria mentioned attends North High?"

Ray stared at her in disbelief. For someone with the mental maturity of a 5 year old, she was incredibly perceptive, given proper training she would make an excellent Praetorii.

He sighed and then spoke, saying "Fine I'll satisfy your curiosity a little but only to an extent. Yes this goddess attends North High, however she is only called a goddess because of the Valkyur's twisted religion based on a prophecy that dates back to Adam and Eve. This goddess is actually what I refer to as a Shinjin, Shinjin can alter reality at whim by constructing closed space around an environment or can apply closed space to normal space, rewriting the universe in full. It's not like scribbling on a book hoping to change the ending in futility, it's rewriting the book entirely as a reboot, from start to finish. This Shinjin is unaware of her powers and if she becomes aware too soon all hell could break loose and the last thing I need is you being so blatantly obvious in your attempt to find abnormal individuals that the Shinjin awakens too early. I am also here for you personally as you seem both physically fit and highly percep-"

Haruhi interrupted him, saying "Give up on it. You should know from Kyon by now that I believe love is a disease." Ray snapped back, saying "See, that right there, interrupting me before I can finish is a fine example of how childish you really are. I am interested in you from a professional point of view, you have the talents generally sought out for Praetorii, female personal guards of the Imperator of the civilization I hold a high ranking in. Praetorians are the male term and Praetors are the gender neutral term."

Haruhi then replied "I see. Would I be correct in assuming you surround yourself in some harem then?" Ray growled slightly at this statement, sure most of the talented individuals he had found were female but that was an emotionless decision on his part and his lack of control only began when he got personally involved with Haruhi, his plans and prospects prior to this were unbiased decisions. He replied, saying "No, It just happens to be that most extremely talented psionics and martial artists I've encountered were female. Ty Lee for example can immobilize a human target with her bare hands, the history teacher Selvaria can wield incredible psionic powers and is a Valkyria as well, but on my side." Haruhi then said "And the Gym Teacher? I assume the new arrivals who came along with you are your personal guard." Ray sighed once more, she had deduced that he was the Imperator though this time the method eluded him, perhaps she subconsciously gave herself that information or perhaps she was more capable in analysis than Koizumi Itsuki. He then said "She is an extremely talented individual and my childhood friend. Perhaps the only Praetorii who entered the service on a biased decision but regardless she is extremely capable and although she isn't a psionic she is extremely talented all forms of unarmed combat and weaponry. I've known her since before I got involved with aliens."

Haruhi rose an eyebrow and Ray immediately guessed what she was thinking and said "If it's going in your head, no we are not in a relationship, not a romantic one anyway. I suppose you could say we're like siblings even though we're not related by blood. Chronologically she is the same age as me, born on the same day too. Have I satisfied your curiosity for the day?"

She spoke, saying "I have one more question for now. What do you intend to do with this Shinjin?"

Ray replied in a serious tone, saying "Prevent her from tearing apart the fabric of reality by accident. Once she is mature enough to accept the world for what it is then I'll reveal that information to her and I intend to recruit her as a Praetorii. I am the only one who could restrain her after all as I am a Shinjin as well."

Haruhi stared at Ray for a moment as he got up, class was soon and he was always punctual even after joining the SOS-dan. Just before he exited the door however as Haruhi got up he stopped and said "And by the way, Kylandarians mature faster, you would have been considered an adult at 16 if you had their biochemistry. Terrans develop slower in brain chemistry because of simple environmental differences, and yet at the same time there is no external difference between the two. Both are human and I happen to be a terran by birth."

Haruhi replied, saying "Then why do you look at everyone like we're the aliens?" Ray replied "Because to me you are aliens. Except for Laura I find nothing but disgust for how Earth has developed. It has nothing to do with perpetual war and conquest, the entire galaxy is like that and I accept that. What I cannot accept is the constant perversions Terran culture has created. The constant state of moral depravity on Earth is what kept me away. I was forcibly taken from here at the beginning, abducted you could say, but when I returned I saw nothing of what I knew and I'll speak my mind here. Japan and the United States have the worst of it right now. Word of advice as well, stop looking at Earth as only the Japanese Islands and start looking at it as a planet, learn about foreign cultures and you'll notice that they can be as diverse as the Galaxy itself. Honor is dead on Earth, even in your country which once held it higher than life itself."

Haruhi was speechless as Ray continued towards class, and also knew he was right in a sense. Humanity seems to find new ways to abandon long held morals and also a sense of hope came from his statement, that although Earth may be corrupt, the majority of the galaxy is not.

* * *

The Next Day

* * *

Haruhi had stopped firing questions at him though also her outlook seemed to have changed regarding Ray, she was no longer inquisitive of everything about him now but rather respectful of his privacy and his secrets, could he have already given her enough information yesterday to change her view of the world, one thing was certain however and that presently neither Haruhi nor Sasaki had created any recent constructs of closed space which also meant Ty Lee was doing a good job at keeping her in line or perhaps rather that Sasaki was more accepting of the way things are than Haruhi.

Entering the clubroom he found the SOS-dan all present except for Haruhi, Koizumi had a dissatisfied look on his face, Kyon's memory seal was inactive meaning he knew who he really was and what his purpose there was and now that Koizumi and the others were aware of this fact after Haruhi's first exposure to the violence of the world (which she then afterwards had been given amnesia of the incident at her own request.) meant that Kyon no longer needed the memories suppressed (Koizumi's deductive skills coupled with Nagato's ability to detect lies were the reason he was given the seal).

Mikuru spoke first, saying "What have you done? I've lost all contact with the future, even my speech restrictions are gone." Ray replied "I'm a Shinjin, perhaps my actions disregard the conventional flow of time or rather perhaps one of those branching points in history went the direction you wanted it to avoid and even if you tried to change history, you couldn't because I'm protected against changes in the timeline. You think you understand time? You have no idea how complex and chaotic time travel can be, as for your TPDD, it's a primitive method which is what caused the branching to begin with. Think of time in the beginning as a steady line with no branches until the first use of the TPDD. You can't clog the holes, you can only build around them to rebranch what was lost and as a result you have alternate timelines and paraell universes co-existing with our own. My method simply cuts the thread and starts at the point I want to go back to instead of bending a line to bridge past and future. Your constant use of the TPDD has destroyed what is known as the present, now only past and future exist, present tense no longer has much meaning."

Mikuru was about to reply when Koizumi interrupted and said "I quite agree that they should leave the past alone but I'm more concerned about Suzumiya right now. I'm glad that closed space has stopped abruptly today but I'm also concerned about it. Did you tell or say anything to Suzumiya?"

Ray replied "I gave her half truths to shut her up, she wouldn't stop talking after a little incident with a Valkyria occurred. She doesn't know everything but she does know of the existence of what I refer to as Shinjin now though still unaware that she herself is one." Kyon then said "Are you sure that was wise? Even knowing the existence of such individuals could lead her to suspect that she herself might be one. She is incredibly perceptive."

Ray replied "I'm aware of that, she deduced that I was the Imperator of the Kylandarian Empire and furthermore deduced that the Shinjin I am after is a member of this high school. Meaning that the possibility she could figure the truth out on her own is now higher. It was a risk but it was necessary."

Nagato spoke, saying "I do not believe so. Your body is filled with nanites more obvious than the ones that I have only recently detected within Kyon. These seem to be attempting to administer suppressants to counter what humans call emotion yet at the same time, your biochemistry is not being affected by them contrary to what should be happening. Based on my observations you are subconsciously cancelling out their effects."

Ray stared for a moment, one of his theories that his subconscious reconstructed itself was now proven by the observations of this data based entity. If so then he had given Haruhi information merely to stop her incessant questioning, it was a whim, an act of annoyance, an emotionally biased decision. If so then what else could be going wrong with his intentions here. His plan initially was to slowly expose Haruhi to everything but he had done so at a slower pace than initially planned and it was forced upon him by the Valkyria, it was as if he wanted Haruhi to remain in ignorance. Not out of fear but out of interest, perhaps even romantic interest.

Ray decided to seize his emotions using his own self instead of his machines, shutting them down actively which caught Kyon's attention as Kyon then said "I can tell the nanites aren't trying to suppress your emotions anymore." Ray nodded and said "If the nanites can't do it then I'll have to control my emotions on my own and to do that I need to stop relying on the tech and work on a psychological solution." Kyon then replied "Just remember that you've suppressed them for a long time, there's bound to be backlash." Ray nodded and his heightened senses noticed Haruhi approaching, he then said "Haruhi is nearby, not yet in audible range but she will be soon, we'll have to talk about this later."

As time passed Haruhi entered a full yet silent room and the day passed without much event.

* * *

Later that day

* * *

Laura and Selvaria were waiting for Ray outside his temporary residence and when he arrived he was a bit surprised as he hadn't called a meeting.

Ray then said "Something wrong?" Laura sent a small data file to Ray's AR (Augmented Reality) display which annoyed him, though Haruhi wasn't near, this was annoying as his nanites were no longer on suppression mode. It was several pictures of last night, specifically Laura leaving Ray's front door and a message saying "Ensure Asahina Mikuru has a future where she knows her brother Hakeda or at the right time these go everywhere."

Ray sighed and said "Well, I'll say it right now."

His facial expression changed and even Laura didn't recognize him for a second.

Ray finished his statement with his eyes glowing golden, the color of a Shinjin's eyes. He said "I'm pissed."

* * *

Closed Space

* * *

Fujiwara/Hakeda was baffled, he had sent the message but assumed Ray would approach this calmly, instead he instantly was teleported into a region of closed space in front of Ray who held a katana at his throat, eyes full of killing intent.

Ray then said "I thought Koizumi vaporized you." Fujiwara shouted "He nearly did, you were the one who saved me! Not this you but an alternate version of yourself from a time that can still come about, you wanted me to change it!" Ray replied "I doubt I ordered you to try and blackmail a Shinjin, not a very smart decision."

Fujiwara replied "I only knew you for less than five minutes and that was a different version of yourself, I have no reason to trust you, I just want a world where my sister exists as my sister, even if it means I die in her place."

Ray sighed and relaxed his blade, making it disappear as he said "The photos, wherever they are, however they are stored, no longer exist. I have seen to that, even my copy in the AR display is gone now. If you care so much about your sister then perhaps you should work with me more directly, I am a Shinjin myself and can ensure she exists as your sister, but I cannot guarantee that it will be the same timeline you know as I have my own intentions."

Fujiwara relaxed slightly and said "I only want the Mikuru that was my sister to be alive, either she gets killed during time travel or detonates an atomic bomb to stop Zeus I cannot accept. But if she lives knowing and having a brother who is like me then I can live on in peace, or die in peace if necessary."

Ray sighed and said "Very well, you will take no direct action without my say, as for your TPDD, you will no longer need it, I will instead give you a more effective device."

Fujiwara noticed his TPDD was replaced with a different cybernetic implant, one that he suddenly became aware of it's operating method. With this device he wouldn't be creating tears in space and time and could avoid what some timelines develop as "Shattered Mirrors" Naturally occurring rifts in space-time that always end up ripping apart that time branch to the point where it ceases to exist altogether, like what happened with his timeline.

* * *

Ray's Temporary Residence, merely half a second later

* * *

Ray's eyes returned to normal color and to his Praetorii he had not moved after his statement. He then said "I've taken care of the issue, it seems we'll have a new helper for the moment." Laura sighs and says "The last time I saw you angry was before we became aware of extraterrestrial life being a fact."

Ray nodded and Selvaria left though Laura remained.

A few minutes later and Laura said "You've stopped suppressing your emotions." Ray replied "Yeah, I guess I'm not as accustomed to them as I thought I would be. You never used emotion suppression but I can see now why you wanted to keep your feelings. Things like anger, sorrow, love. They're unique and shouldn't be held back." Laura replied "Well try not to lose your temper too often, especially around Haruhi." Ray replied "She defied my nano-suppressants not of her own doing but rather my subconscious rebuilt itself and probably used her as an experiment to see if I could handle emotions again. I'll just have to learn to control them conventionally." Laura sighs and says "This is what I meant by pushing yourself too hard. If you can't keep control-"

She stopped for a moment, her own AR display revealed that an Empire-wide transmission was sent, her Epsilon status was activated.

Ray then said "I know, until I can get a grasp on myself you'll have to manage the day-to-day tasks now. I never wanted so much pressure on you but now there's no avoiding it unless I want a galactic war to happen or worse, a civil war."

Laura put her hand on his shoulder and said "I know, I just only brought it up that night because there's a limit to how much you can hold in, even with technology. No matter what anyone says you're only human." Ray replied "So are you Laura, never forget that. If the pressure does start to get too much just talk to me for advice. I've dealt with the senate for 100 years both as an enemy and as an ally. I know them inside and out and I know you best of all. Don't push yourself either."

Laura nodded and then left as Ray looked on and thought to himself "Good luck old friend."

* * *

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Shinjin.

"Let sleeping gods lie."

* * *

North High, Nishinomiya, Japan. Sometime in the month of May. POV - Kyon

* * *

His false memories were small in comparison to his true memories. Kyon was nowhere near the age of others in his rank but was exceptional in terms of his ability to recover from memory implanting without the need of advanced cybernetics or selective removal of the falsified memories.

He was becoming concerned however over recent events but oddly he was still thinking about more trivial events such as the fact that the anniversary of the SOS-dan's formation was coming. Despite all the various things going on in his head he still held the SOS-dan in high regard even if some individuals inside it might not have the best intentions though thinking clearly on that it is perhaps only Haruhi among everyone else who has not in some way lost her innocence.

Koizumi's fanatical approach to Haruhi's life has caused him to do many things his younger self would never even imagine such as taking another man's life, ordering others to do the same and depriving someone of information that they have the genuine right to know.

Mikuru's will to do anything to prevent or ensure some future event even to the point of assassination and blackmail.

Nagato's lack of humanity in general although Nagato was perhaps changing from worse to better as Kyon had noted several times that she was learning more about what it means to be human over such a short period of time, perhaps Nagato was the most human of the club second to Haruhi.

He himself was a spy, an assassin and in general a soldier. He had killed yes, he was not earthborn thus technically was an alien and psionic power is often confused with ESP by some people, notably Haruhi although Kyon's Psionic abilities were limited to close range telekinesis. Basically he could bend metal objects in close proximity, I.E, spoons. By standard Kylandarian scales he was inferior but then again he wasn't born on Kylandor either, rather on some neutral world that peacefully joined the Empire to survive a combination of total ecological collapse (The thing Terrans think is happening to earth but really Earth is actually in the process of becoming even more fertile for human life rather than hostile.) and the Drona War, an event he would rather not like to remember, losing most of his family and friends to machines once built by the empire. In truth his sister was his only biological relative, his parents being adoptive. He knows loss and the reason he joined military service is to prevent others from knowing loss on that scale, loss on a global scale in which billions die in mere seconds.

As for Raymond, the Imperator who is now a member of the SOS-dan, it gets confusing sometimes. He is a Shinjin but does that mean he isn't human or perhaps is among the only 3 true humans in the known universe (Haruhi, Sasaki and Ray). Then again prior to him learning of his true nature he was experimented on and his DNA ripped apart and put back together by the very nation he now rules. He knows one thing about the Imperator and that he definitely has killed others, ordered tactics the terrans would consider controversial including Biological Warfare, Chemical Warfare and Nuclear strikes though in the scale of a galaxy these are considered conventional weapons and tactics. Still Ray has not lost his morality. He never ordered the genocide of an entire race or city, he never ordered attacks on civilian targets. Those were the crimes of the previous Imperator Alpha Destriex, a madman who Ray himself put down.

Haruhi was indeed unique among the SOS-dan. She was still even now slightly unaware of how dark the universe is. She had never been forced into a life or death situation that she was aware of (The incident in closed space with her being unconscious and her having the memories of that kidnapping removed.) Kyon was entirely sure that the mysterious savior was the Imperator, the armor design was dead on though his Blazer abilities seemed more developed, perhaps an alternate future version of the Imperator or maybe a surviving clone. Then again clones don't inherit a Shinjin's powers, such powers are transferred and given but are not found in the DNA or RNA and thus Clones do not acquire such power. If that were true SEELE would have finished Zeus long ago, sure enough Haruhi's genetic material is in their possession which leads to a thought Kyon had not pondered before. Could SEELE have made a clone of Haruhi to try and complete their plans? If so how would Haruhi react if she ever met her? Probably the same way she reacted to Watahashi in a sense as she was a quantum replication of Haruhi, something much different than a clone, a clone is never perfect, like a copying machine, some things are left out but quantum replications are exact and in such a case then during the time Watahashi was walking about, there were four Shinjin in the universe and if she was a replication of Haruhi's personality as well then perhaps Haruhi is already mature enough to learn about her powers. If it were up to Kyon he would rather Haruhi remain ignorant not out of fear but out of concern, Haruhi was a close friend to him though the constant actions of the other members of the SOS-dan save for Ray and Haruhi suggest that they intended him to form a relationship with her. To both of Kyon's memory varients that was out of the question. He was either focused on Mikuru or Sasaki. Haruhi was like a non-biological sister, nothing more and nothing less.

The door opened to reveal Haruhi and Ray, ending Kyon's moment of solitude though thankfully for once he was not thinking out loud.

A week, it would be a week from this day that the anniversary would come and Kyon felt perhaps a surprise gift may be appropriate for their brigade chief.

Ray broke the silence, saying "No need to keep up the act, Haruhi has already deduced that the rest of the SOS-dan is aware somewhat of what's going on. That moment of silence in the clubroom last time tipped her off."

Kyon felt uneasy, Haruhi was perceptive indeed but awkward silences never tipped her off before, perhaps it had something to do with Ray revealing just how mysterious the universe really is that has Haruhi well, recognizing conventional suspicious activity as usually before things that were normally suspicious or strange brushed by her unnoticed and casual, everyday activity was considered abnormal by her.

Haruhi spoke, saying "So should I keep calling you Kyon or perhaps should I call you John? How could you keep something like that from me?"

And there goes his trump card, whatever individual intentions he had before were dashed, not by Ray or Haruhi alone but by both Haruhi's perception and Ray's newfound willfulness to reveal information to her.

Kyon replied "Well for one that incident was confusing for me and two it probably would have changed how you acted. In all honesty Haruhi I would rather have you see me as just an ordinary human than some time travelling alien spy."

Ray chuckled at the statement, time travelling alien spy must have sounded weird for him. Haruhi merely sighed and nodded, perhaps barely accepting his answer as acceptable.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji

* * *

Ray was slightly annoyed at how Haruhi so quickly deduced from that moment of silence that the SOS-dan were not normal people but still was glad that she had not deduced or had not revealed that she deduced that she was a shinjin and was accepting of the world.

Still Kyon's full revelation meant that there was absolutely no chance that he would need to suppress his memories again for sake of avoiding Haruhi's perceptive skills which Ray was now certain were three levels higher than Koizumis (On a chart Earth would probably be debating on it's accuracy in lieu of their habit of putting politics and money before truth whereas the majority of the Empire preferred accurate statements and theories, Terrans were 63% more likely to lie than the rest of the galaxy's races that were capable of lying and the accuracy of that study was at 93% but still despite all the difficulties Earth was going through Ray had hope that he could uplift his homeworld not to a submissive ally but to a worthy ally as the Terran Resolve that has been commonly referred to as Terran Ingenuity surpasses the resolve of other humanoid races, including the Kylandarians and it was a biological factor, something about Earth's environment had developed the human brain of earthborn individuals, even those who came from non-earthborn parents increased the centers of the brain related to resolution and commitment higher than galactic standards for humanity. Humans from other planets are not exactly alien, they are fully human in DNA and RNA but enviormental differences on the plethora of planets in the galaxy has caused some mutations such as heightened psionic abilities, different aging factors and even redundant vital organs I.E. such as people being born with 2 or 3 hearts. In terms of the scale of the galaxy and how they reacted to eachother however it was no different than the various racial ethnics on Earth in a social comparison, sure that included the chance for ethnic bias even in the galaxy but no more or less than what was on Earth, it merely meant people born with 2 hearts were not seen as "alien" by most people born with only one heart.)

His memories and thoughts on Earth aside the focus here was that Haruhi now knew, and was herself about to reveal what she had learned.

Haruhi spoke, confirming what Ray and Kyon's suspicions on how much she deduced and learned was. She said "Well based on what I've seen with what I've learned, Koizumi is an Esper or according to Ray a psionic but can only access his abilities when certain circumstances are met otherwise he's just a normal person. Nagato is basically a living computer program, Mikuru is a time traveler whose future has been overwritten though I'm still trying to wrap my head around that. Kyon is an alien and Ray is basically our definition of what God is."

Ray spoke up, saying "Hold on, I'm nowhere near as powerful as the divine creator. Shinjin abilities are limited to this universe and this universe alone or any universe in which the Shinjin occupies either as a native or as a foreigner. My powers may seem without limit but they still do have limit in terms of where I can apply them. There is no limit to God's domain. If necessary also I could show you all my data on the birth of the universe, it would really change your perceptions on the existence of God."

Haruhi replied "I do agree that the universe simply didn't exist for all eternity but whether or not the creating force is what we recognize as our religions is almost impossible to be true, we simply have too little knowledge of the universe to understand it."

Ray then said "Perhaps most people and culture yes but you're forgetting that I'm a Shinjin, the reason I find school so boring is not because my nation is more advanced but because I know all there is to know about the laws of physics, Shinjin can imprint such knowledge onto their brain without compromising their sanity, it's a difficult process to understand but simple to enact. We know what has been revealed to us. You would be surprised at how many alien cultures have developed religions similar to Christianity and Buddhism. I will say that most of the galaxy is actually polytheist and believe in a multitude of gods but the main three galactic powers are monotheist, particularly the Transvaal Empire, the Galactic Federation and the Imperial Kylandarian Republic, the third being the civilization I rule."

Haruhi replies though as if not expecting an answer, saying "You mean dictate."

Kyon gives a slightly hostile stare at Haruhi which surprises her but Ray then says "Relax, it's true that the IKR is mostly totalitarian in government structure but there is a senate, you could probably best compare us to Rome during the times of Augustus Caesar. It would take too long to explain exactly how our government is structured but you could say I've had a large part in it. It was entirely totalitarian before I took power, I reformed the Empire and gave more power to the senate while still maintaining the Imperial system's authority. I had to please trillions and though recent polls suggest an average of a 79% approval across the empire. I cannot please everyone, even if I were merely presiding over the homeworld of Kylandor which is home to 9.6 billion inhabitants the local approval rate there is at 89%. The only place that has a full 100% approval is the colony on your system's Pluto, which is only 300 inhabitants."

Kyon then speaks, saying "Basically he's saying that although the Kylandarian Empire is not a true democratic civilization, the majority of the people are nevertheless approving of his rule and to point a fact, the Empire is not like China or some medieval kingdom. There are just as many civil liberties as in the United States, the judicial system was restructured to be similar to the American justice system although there are some differences and there is free speech and free market. You could best explain the Imperator as a benevolent dictator. Not someone like England's Henry VIII or the Soviet Union's Josef Stalin. More like Augustus Caesar."

Haruhi replied "I disagree in a sense. While yes based on what he's said and how he acts he isn't like those two he also isn't like Augustus Caesar of Rome. He's his own person and no one individual in history could explain him."

Ray scratches the back of his head and says "Pretty much on the dot there. I see you took my advice to learn about foreign cultures." Haruhi replied "These things are simple for me. The main thing I want to know is about this goddess that woman mentioned."

Ray replies "And for the 32nd time, I will tell you about that when I see fit. Back to the reason we came here though I wanted to make preparations for a vacation for the SOS-dan to take for the anniversary of it's founding. Although I wasn't here in your first year as a student I have been watching from the sidelines for a long time."

Haruhi then says "And just where are we going to have this vacation?" Ray looks at Kyon for a moment to which Kyon replies "I really don't think this is a good idea."

Ray replies "Why not, might as well satisfy her curiosity a little further. Our vacation a week from now can be easily arranged. It's only a 41 lightyear trip, less than an minute's flight on civilian ships but with Hyper-"

Haruhi interrupts him, saying "So basically you're saying we're going to have a vacation on another planet?" Ray nods and says "Yes, specifically the capital of the Kylandarian Empire. This sector is well secure and the whole space pirates thing only applies to border systems or insecure sectors. I want to show you the differences between our planets' development."

Kyon sighs and says "Just don't expect any retro sci-fi stuff like flying cars or the like. At first glance there's not that much of a difference between Earth's modern cities and Kylandor's modern cities. The differences lie in the internal workings such as the culture, social structure, laws and technology."

Haruhi then says "At the very least is the air clean?" Ray sighs and says "Yes and no, you'll be given a small injection of nanites to help with some environmental differences such as bacteria and virus strains that to us are like the common cold but could hit offworlders without proper medical precautions like cancer or ebola. Also compared to the surface of Earth Kylandor is significantly high in radiation, the average radiation level is 138% higher than the current level of radiation at Chernobyl, Russia. The nanites can filter out and repulse radiation and prevent any damage to your DNA and RNA. Put simply, we have conquered Radiation to the point where specialized equipment and construction isn't necessary anymore to deal with it. I could walk through the crater of a nuclear blast without suffering any degree of radiation poisoning nor would it build up in my system because the nanites can actually decrease your radiation level that builds up normally, even through simple exposure to sunlight."

Haruhi stares at him for a moment, grasping the fact that he considers it perfectly safe to walk through a radioactive planet though she remembers the fact that their society is more advanced technologically and he just explained that radiation isn't a problem for them anymore. She speaks, saying "So I guess your planet has more radiation naturally for some reason?" Ray shakes his head and says "No, the natural level of Radiation on Kylandor isn't because it's closer to it's star, it has a stronger layer of what you call ozone around it to filter the radiation out. It's higher in radiation because before the Empire took to the stars we suffered three global nuclear wars in the past. Put simply, Kylandor is recovering from a Nuclear Winter, prior to our discovery of radiation therapy 64% of the surface was uninhabitable. Since then however we have repaired the damage. It used to have radiation levels 4000% higher than what I mentioned before but time and hard work have reduced radiation levels to acceptable parameters. It is true that Kylandarians are naturally resistant to higher levels of radiation but also keep in mind that I'm Earthborn and Kyon wasn't born on the IKR's homeworld but rather on a planet with less background radiation than Earth. Technically Kyon's biology is more vulnerable to radiation than Terrans, without the nanites the capital would be toxic to him and he would even have some problems here as well, like constantly having X-Rays being taken of you every day for your entire stay on Earth, that would be the appropriate comparison. The same comparison exists for you and the capital though at a slightly lesser rate. I carry similar nanites inside me and the ones we'll give you, Koizumi and Mikuru will be limited. They will last for about 2 weeks before they run out of energy and become inert and furthermore they will decrease in number through waste."

Haruhi replied "So how long would it take for my body to purge them naturally?" Ray responded, saying "Two months, you only need 300,000 to protect you from Radiation, the nanites inside me and Kyon number in the millions and replicate in a controlled manner to keep their number maintained, they also recharge off conventional nutrients, basically they're powered the same way the brain is, through oxygen and glucose or basically, food."

Haruhi ponders for a moment before saying "And exactly how will our parents agree to this?" Kyon replies "My parents are adoptive and are Imperials so there's no trouble for me. This is the one trip I'm not taking my sister on though. She's suffering from retrograde amnesia and doesn't know it. Something to do with a reaction with a chemical agent on our way to Earth, when she got back her age regressed and her memory as well. Technically she's the same age as me, she's my non-identical twin and my only remaining biological family. Koizumi's parents are aware of things and are psionics like himself, Mikuru's parents haven't even been born yet and as far as we know she lives alone in this timeline, she is also temporally displaced so perhaps it's more accurate to say she doesn't have any parents now. Nagato's race doesn't have the concept of family the way we do and there won't be any problems with her living arrangements along with this trip."

Haruhi replies "What about my parents?"

Kyon says nothing whilst Ray sighs and says "Your parents are completely aware of the situation and are aware of the Imperial Kylandarian Republic. There's nothing truly abnormal with them but I felt it was necessary to inform them of what was going on surrounding these events. They know as much as Kyon knows."

Haruhi was speechless, she stared at Ray for a moment though it seemed like an eternity to her. Her parents knew about these things and didn't tell her? More importantly a question came to Haruhi that she wanted answered. She spoke with a different tone, slightly unnerved but still serious, it sent a chill through both Ray and Kyon's spines as she spoke in this tone.

She asked "Do they know about the goddess the Valkyria mentioned?"

Kyon said nothing whilst Ray replied "Yes, they know. I advise you don't ask them that question. Not only will they most likely not tell you anything but... I would just rather you didn't push them on the topic, they're not exactly fond of the concept of an unaware Shinjin capable of accidentally destroying this universe running amok."

That is what he said but the real reason was because after Ray approached them about the truth of their daughter just after the conspiracy around Haruhi started their eyes displayed fear, fear of their own daughter. Based on his observations of them after that they began to pamper Haruhi as much as they could without becoming suspicious. They still act responsibly with her but truth be told they probably fear her more than they love her and if Haruhi asked them about the goddess of the valkyria legend then they would give a facial expression that would either have Haruhi successfully deduce that she is the goddess or cause an emotional change in Haruhi for the worse. There is no chance in hell that she wouldn't perceive the fear in their eyes (more specifically the fact that it's directed at her) if she asked such a sensitive question.

Haruhi spoke again, saying "Do they know that I'm aware of some of the events coming about?" Ray replied "Yes, I informed them about the incident that occurred with the Valkyria. They were not happy that you were exposed to that information and quite honestly although it is your decision whether or not to accept this offer, they might not approve. As difficult as the subject may be, I know more about your parents then you do."

Haruhi looked at the table in the center of the room for a moment before looking at the window and out into the sky, fixing her eyes on the one lone cloud floating about in the blue. Haruhi then said "As much as I want to see this planet, I think it might be better if we stay here."

Kyon was caught completely off-guard by his and was now genuinely concerned how events were unfolding. Haruhi giving up the chance to see an alien world in favor of her Parent's wishes meant that perhaps the revelations to them that she was a Shinjin caused tension within their family, perhaps Haruhi sees herself as alone in the world as if her parents are afraid of what she can do, then perhaps every time they look her in the eye, there is more fear than love and for someone as perceptive as Suzumiya Haruhi it would be physically impossible to not notice it.

* * *

A week later. 10:14 PM

* * *

The SOS-dan had decided on a different route following Haruhi's decision last week not to take an offworld vacation. Instead they took a trip to a small amusement park in the city outskirts.

After most of the festivities the majority of the SOS-dan had gone home, all now aware that Haruhi knew what they were in a sense. Koizumi relaxed his personality a bit now that Haruhi was aware of his abilities, Nagato showed no change, none visible to humans at least and Mikuru was at first agitated then accepting of the temporal enigma explaination that Ray gave her, apparently she was aware of the concept thus perhaps her future self and her past self were not the same timeline and the elder Mikuru Kyon had seen so many times before was not the same Mikuru who was part of the SOS-dan.

At Haruhi's request Ray followed her though her tone of voice and facial expression unnerved him.

The hill and this area was out of the way of most of the city but still not far by train which was how they got here. The stars visible in the night sky very well, Haruhi's face was focused on the sky but still showed the same unnerving look that was bothering Ray.

Ray spoke, saying "Is something wrong? You don't exactly look normal." Haruhi replied "When I got home last week after that conversation, I asked my parents about the goddess and their relations with you. About you they were blunt, they distrust your intentions but accept the fact that you've done things to keep things safe around here. They said nothing about the goddess, I didn't press the question when they didn't say anything about it but... The look in their eyes, the fear I saw, and who it was directed at."

Ray looked over at Haruhi, his mind discontented though still he noticed without a doubt what Haruhi was getting to, her next words confirmed it.

She said "Am I a Shinjin? Am I this goddess these Valkyur are after? That fear in my parent's eyes was directed at me. Tell me and tell me the truth."

Ray closed his eyes for a couple seconds and then opened them, saying "Yes. You are a Shinjin, alongside me and Kazahana Sasaki you are one of the three Shinjin in the universe."

Haruhi looked down at the city and said "Sasaki? From my old middle school? How is she?" Ray replied "The girl you met who was acquainted with Kyon was her. She had to change her family name because her mother split from her father and she's now in witness protection. Her father is part of a clan that is suffering from being targeted by other members of themselves because of some inheritance dispute. Specifically her father is Yakuza as well though nobody has pinned a crime on him yet, the witness protection is there because of some distant cousin and a gang of people following him tried to kill her father. A Dark story I know but it's true. She's managing to hold up. The other agent here, Ty Lee keeps an eye on her also. She is aware of her capabilities but chooses not to use them."

Haruhi sighed and said "I see. What is closed space like?" Ray replies "Have you had a dream in which you and Kyon were trapped in an area around the school and later these energy creatures appeared and chased you and the dream didn't end until Kyon pulled you into a kiss?"

Haruhi replied "Wha? How would you know about that?" Ray replied "In Kyon's reports he mentioned being in a closed space incident with you. It wasn't a dream, your subconscious created that region and scenario and refused to accept the world was worth existing in until Kyon acted desperately."

Haruhi was silent for a moment before saying "Desperately? Are you saying he didn't mean what he said?" Ray replied "Well his report was specific on the issue. Back then he was able to avoid detection because he was a sleeper agent with suppressed memories. I'm certain what he mentioned about ponytails was true but his intentions have always been focused on Sasaki or Mikuru, the latter of which likely caused the incident to begin in the first place. Now that his memories are restored he seems only focused on Sasaki now despite an early confusion."

Haruhi replied "How would him showing feelings for Mikuru provoke me to try and change things?" Ray sighed and decided to be blunt, saying "Haruhi, you're only human, I'm human, Sasaki is human. A Shinjin is not an alien race or the like, it's a certain state in which hasn't existed before since Adam & Eve who were the first Shinjin, their powers stripped from them during the fall and those powers were given to you and me, later on somehow half of your abilities were grafted into Sasaki. Though all three of us could alter reality with the same level of ability the level of power merely affects brute force changes, meaning if you and I were to enact contradictory changes, my change would win out and yours would not happen. That being said the three of us cannot directly affect eachother with closed space for either good or bad purposes. A type of natural field exists among Shinjin which prevents us from say destroying another Shinjin with a whim, regardless of how strong our abilities are. Given time you and Sasaki will become complete Shinjin like me as the power revitalizes itself over time. You currently construct closed space in a crude manner so to speak whereas my manner is more fluid and stable. Regions of closed space by me are neither brighter nor darker than conventional space and it would merely appear as if everyone else disappeared from the enclosed region and furthermore there would be no chance of a weak spot, meaning anything short of another complete Shinjin couldn't accidentally or forcibly barge their way into closed space. Only those permitted by the controlling Shinjin could enter and exit."

Haruhi was listening in full, her attention undivided as Ray continued.

Ray continued to speak, saying "Onto the original question however. Shinjin are human and as such are affected by human biology, meaning emotions. Whether you want to or not even you can develop romantic feelings for someone because the basic matters of attraction are physiological not psychological. Certain chemicals and hormones operate and affect your brain chemistry, causing what is interpreted as attraction. Things like that are how the basics start but as far as staying with someone or keeping interest evolves from physiology to psychology. In short, you're still a young woman, prone to emotional urges of attraction and perhaps had such an urge directed at Kyon. Like I said before I've been watching you for a long time and he wasn't the first time you felt interested in someone. All those halfhearted dates in Junior High for example were likely the result of your body's natural processes. It took a lot of favors and pressure to keep some people from reacting... adversely to you breaking up without so much as a kiss on the cheek. Some people were so far obsessed with you that we had to induce amnesia to keep them from doing something wrong."

Haruhi replied "Are you saying if you haven't been intervening in my life, someone could have forced themselves on me?" Ray nodded and said "Or tried to anyway, I'm sure you are physically capable of beating the crap out of most civilians especially given your above-normal adrenaline levels or more specifically, stamina."

Haruhi realized that Ray not only was watching her over those times from the sidelines but also may have had access to medical information about her, sure enough Haruhi has had a cold or two and a blood draw or two, given the fact that Ray's influence reaches across stars it wouldn't be surprising if he could access personal medical information on nearly anyone on Earth, legally or illegally.

Ray spoke again, saying "It's a lot to take in. What I'm merely saying is that even you can't avoid emotional attraction at times. Since you're now aware I suppose I should make something known to you before you decide to do anything."

Haruhi nodded and said "Alright, speak."

Ray spoke, saying "I advise you do not try to change your physiology through closed space or nanotech therapy because I've been there before. The genetic altercations that happened to me after I was abducted by the empire when I was 16, physiologically and chronologically, caused my emotions to become more sensitive. Through nanites I was able to suppress this heightened sensitivity via a combination of drugs and neuro-electrical manipulation. In short chemicals were released by the nanites to block certain hormones from peaking past normal and also they acted as conductors, intercepting electrical signals in the brain related to emotional outbursts and reactions and redirected them harmlessly outside my body. When I became aware that I was a Shinjin I went so far as to destroy my subconscious to a degree, making it impossible to have hidden thoughts or even to dream. I could still sleep but it would be rest and rest alone. As time passed I learned more intricately how to dream consciously or as more easily said as Lucid Dreaming. But later or rather more specifically, here, my subconscious managed to repair itself slightly and used closed space to interfere with my nanites using you as a test subject. I had no control over the emotions that came out. At first you piqued my romantic interest until finally it ended with you simply getting me angry, which is why I leg sweeped you that day. I have control now but after going through over 5 centuries without complex emotions I realized that it is better to feel than to not feel. Logic can be maintained even through human emotions. As you age you'll get better control over them, teenagers are merely overwhelmed at first because the various hormones their bodies didn't produce before are new to the brain and it has no baseline on how to handle them. For Terrans this will last until you're 25 to 26 years old. Like I said before it happens to Kylandarians when their 16, hence why they're mature at that age and not later. Love when it comes down to it isn't a mental disease but a simple genetic imperative to reproduce. Hormones and other chemicals in the brain cause attraction, certain ages are sought out because of their health and fertility, the reason to stay revolves around both the loyalty of the other to remain to protect both you and any children and around optimizing it. In short, the most desirable mate to produce the most children from one partner. Our psychology takes place in our culture and society, that's the difference between sentient races and mere animals, our ability to change or ignore the genetic inclination. So in short love is both physiological and psychological but it isn't a mental illness but rather simply the brain's way of dealing with procreation."

Haruhi listened to him and when he finished she replied, saying "What about cases where two people remain together even though they're sterile?" Ray replies "Like I said before, that is the case in which our sentience overrides our biology, our souls if you will, drive us more than our instincts. Love has been a motivator for both war and peace, emotion and desire in all it's forms is the basis of human advancement and societal progress. Humanity places a high importance on emotion and as a result is able to leap far and wide in science, philosophy and structure. There are cases however where a culture confuses love with lust, and that is the problem Earth is dealing with right now. I could explain it further but I wouldn't be exactly comfortable with the conversation."

Haruhi ponders on what Ray has told her thus far and after about a minute speaks, saying "I agree with the logic of what you've said. I just, I don't know I just.."

Ray interrupts her, saying "Want to be different from the rest, not following the cultural norm, not being just another fish in the sea or any other relative phrase to someone who is simply part of a larger mass with no individuality. It is true that people can have similarities but in the end no two people are exact, not even in the vast expanse of the galaxy. Provided yes sometimes people are born with very similar genetic traits, there are only so many combinations of DNA and RNA and it is possible that, genetically you could have a twin out there in the galaxy and still whilst genetically related, the two of you are not related by family. But they would still be their own person and you as well would be your own person. Even twins are not exactly the same in personality. You are Suzumiya Haruhi, furthermore, name aside, you are yourself, nobody else, regardless of how many similarities exist. There is never a case of two souls being exactly the same. Isn't that the very solution you sought when you wrote in the courtyard of your last school 'I am here'?"

Haruhi stared at him for a moment, she never told anyone what she meant with that sign, not even Kyon or by extension his John Smith alias from 4 years ago.

She then spoke, saying "As for your statement, are you trying to tell me not to ignore chances at love?" Ray replies "Perhaps that could be an interpretation of what I said, but what I really meant is don't give up on emotions in general. It is entirely up to you whether or not to pursue a romance and up to you of whom to pursue it with. But you will regret it sooner or later if you erase your emotions. Those little feelings of Love, anger, sorrow, contentment, happiness. They're unique and irreplaceable. Instead of running from them in fear of being hurt you should embrace them and control them in hopes of preventing them from being able to hurt you."

As Haruhi took in what he said, she closed her eyes for a moment, though only half a minute passed it seemed like an eternity as when her eyes opened, they glowed unnaturally bright in their golden hue. Ray sensed no change in the environment but rather one in Haruhi herself.

Haruhi held her head slightly as her eyes returned to their normal non-luminous golden hue and said "So that's what the universe is like. I've also remembered the kidnapping incident. That woman wasn't the first Valkyur I had to deal with was she?"

Ray nodded and said "I lost emotional control in that fight, sliced off his arm when it wasn't necessary but then again perhaps it was, it was necessary to finish the fight quickly rather than cleanly."

Ray activated some kind of holographic interface that appeared above his left arm and materialized 20 manga books, each titled "The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi" and aside it the book number. Ray then said "These were part of a coverup by Koizumi Itsuki's organization to dissuade outside interference in your life. Keep in mind that it was written back before they knew about Kyon's true nature. The incident in book 20 is slightly inaccurate though. Kyon's report there suggests that it was an unaltered event that was later altered and changed. It doesn't cover every closed space or abnormal incident surrounding you but it does cover the large ones. It is told from Kyon's point of view to an extent, the extent being his suppressed memory persona. I suggest you should read them all before deciding on anything significant."

Haruhi nodded and placed the books in her bag that she had brought with them to the amusement park. Haruhi stood up and said "Raymond, with your powers you could do much more, change things, even things that I may have changed or done. Why won't you? Why don't you just make it so you rule not just one nation but everything, all of the universe with no threats to you or anyone you care about?" Ray sits up as well and replies "Because if I did that, I would be playing God beyond what I should though honestly, truly I believe that's just an excuse I tell myself."

He pauses for a moment before saying "I suppose, I leave the world as it is because if I don't change things with my own hands instead of these powers, that there would be nothing left in life to live, nothing interesting, no spice, no fun. I want the unknown to happen and I want to get through it conventionally. There are exceptions though."

Haruhi replied "Name one." Ray then said "It was during the time I returned to Earth and was aware of my Shinjin abilities, Laura Kylani, my childhood friend and personal guard, also the Gym Teacher of North High, was fatally shot through the heart by a member of a crazed cult. I acted on pure anger, it burst naturally through the nanites to the point where half the nanites in my brain were irreparably damaged and had to be replaced later on. I vaporized every last member of that cult instantly, wherever they may be in all of the universe and at the same time healed Laura's wound before it took hold beyond the sudden pain and impact. If you think you've seen me angry, you haven't seen my facial expression when I did that. I used my powers to learn just how many people were affected as I killed even those I didn't actively know where part of the cult. Over 3103 people, including both of Laura's parents and her older sister. Despite that, she hasn't held it against me, rather was not only happy to be alive, but was happy I was back in her life. We were both 19 that day and another side effect of the outburst was that I accidentally opened a rift in time that sent the two of us 500 years into the past. We managed to get back but we had to do it the old fashioned way."

Haruhi stared at Ray, not knowing if she felt awe at his power or fear at what he is capable of doing. Haruhi then said "Your friend, Laura. How do you feel about her, tell me the truth."

Ray sighed and said "Honestly, from the day I met her when we were 10, it was more than friendship, more than being unrelated siblings. I stopped seeing her romantically when I began suppressing my emotions to avoid another outburst. I never told her and I'm unsure if she ever felt the same way but based on her facial expressions at the time and even today, it's possible she feels the same way. I recently stopped suppressing my emotions and there was backlash from it, it's why I was absent from the SOS-dan's meetings for two days. The backlash was every single emotion that I suppressed suddenly began to resurface in a flashback like feeling. The strongest of it was how I felt for Laura. I suppose if I was forced to sa-"

Haruhi interrupted, saying "You talk too much, just tell her how you feel."

Ray chuckled for a moment and even let out a genuine laugh before saying "Haruhi, I think the two of us will get along just fine. I do have a tendency to talk too much, I suppose you're right. I'm just skirting around the fact that I love her."

Haruhi then said "I hope you two find happiness. Honestly I don't know what it's like to have such strong feelings for someone." Ray nodded and said "Well I'll let you know that the feeling is nice. It's not something you want to lose or not have. If you ever find this feeling one day, I wish you luck. This doesn't end our conspiracy though, there are groups here on Earth and across the stars who would seek ill. I seek a means to resolve these problems conventionally and I've already got many things planned to do so. Since you're aware now, I'll make my offer now and the offer will stand, if you don't seek to accept it now you still can at a later date. I offer you a place as a Praetorii among the Imperial Kylandarian Republic, you can still reside on Earth if you wish. You will be given appropriate education in both applied sciences and military training. There would also be basic education regarding galactic history and kylandarian history. It's up to you."

Haruhi replies "I need time to think on this, to dwell on it. It's hard enough to cope with the fact that I can rewrite the laws of physics if I wanted to. I'll make a decision at the most after I graduate from High School." Ray nods and says "Alright, I'll see you at school later then."

Haruhi nods and the two head to the station and part ways once they return to their local neighborhood.

* * *

Ray's temporary residence, 12:34 AM (34 minutes after midnight)

* * *

Ray entered and after closing and locking his front door proceeded directly to his bedroom.

As he laid down on his bed he materialized an old picture book and browsed through it, pictures of him and Laura as kids, some more high resolution pictures of the two as adults and in uniform. He closed the book and dematerialized it, likely storing it through some matter-energy storage device.

Starting out the window into the night sky he let dwelled on Haruhi's minute facial expressions that she herself may not have noticed. She seemed disappointed at Ray's answer regarding Laura. Had Haruhi developed an attraction to him? Regardless of that however, his feelings remained unchanged though still if it were true, he felt a degree of pity for Haruhi, either because someone she found an interest in did not feel the same way or if he read her body language incorrectly then the pity was directed at her inability to allow herself to feel love.

Tommorow was the next meeting with Laura and Selvaria regarding what would be happening. Ray decided that it was that day, tomorrow that he would reveal his feelings to his childhood friend.

* * *

To be continued...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A Personal War.

"All great men in history have a past be they of noble or common birth, for some the past is best left there."

* * *

Foreword: This chapter is going to be rather dark in tone though is not past a T rating, I am just warning you forehand that certain illnesses and otherwise elements that could be perceived as unethical or extreme will be present. (Forced Genetic Experimentation, Children being forced to kill and other difficult situations.)

It is not farther than a T rating in content but is exceptionally dark compared to the previous chapters. For those that don't mind, enjoy.

* * *

7 years ago, 2003 AD. - California, United States, Earth.

* * *

Memories flowed through Ray's mind as he recalled two points in time, the moment he met his childhood friend Laura Kylani and the day he was abducted by the previous Imperator, Alpha Destriex and was forced into a military procedure that made all of mankind's suffering put together like a random itch on your back compared to having a foreign and conventionally lethal substance forcibly injected into your circulatory system and have it tear you apart at the sub-atomic level, put you back together and repeat the process until it had finished it's horrors.

* * *

At only 10 years old Ray had an innocent perspective on life to an extent but a difficult period when he was 6 to 8 caused by a disease incurable to Terran medical science had changed that outlook. Through a miracle he managed to survive it and it's complications and by 10 was focused on making up for lost time in the realm of education but even still, medical complications from treatment had made it difficult.

One day he was merely playing at a local playground alongside someone he had just met, Laura Kylani.

At this date she was cheerful and innocent as well, entirely unaware of what was about to happen and it wouldn't be for seven years that she would become aware that it was her very parents and older sister (by 5 years) who set her up because of some misinterpreted text that a cult had taken seriously to the point of having enough firepower to take over a third world country.

* * *

A van parked in the front lot of the playground opened it's side doors, out rushed several men in full tactical gear, quickly they turned the innocent playground into a hostage situation. Not one police officer in sight.

Quickly they rounded up all the kids and knocked them unconscious with tranquilizer rounds, the parents subdued and forced to watch their children be kidnapped from them.

* * *

The Next Day, 2003 AD, POV - 10 Year old Ray Zenji - Status - Unaware of any superhuman abilities, not yet nano-augmented or infused with project "Shadow-Walker"

* * *

He woke to an alien environment, a concrete cell which looked like a 1930s prison cell. It was hot and humid, sweat poured across his skin as a rush of fear hit him, he had not felt fear this bad before, not even during his cancer years.

A man opened the cell door, he was an adult and at this time Ray did not have the maturity to accurately gauge someone's age though looking back he was probably 30 years to 33 of age. Ray was led at gunpoint to a makeshift medical lab and was told that if he cooperated he would not be harmed.

Being at gunpoint but also having a slightly different outlook on life he complied but began to examine his environment, all they wanted seemingly was a sample of his blood and he was then promptly placed back in his cell.

Days passed and with no means of tracking the passage of time it could have been two, three or even a week before he was moved to a larger room with other children, among them the cheerful girl Laura Kylani who was now scared beyond her mind, withdrawn from most of the others who were surprisingly calm, the other thing was that none of them were among the kids kidnapped from the park, Laura and Ray were the only ones from there.

Being the only person familiar to him he approached her and immediately said "Laura, from the park? It's me Ray, we were playing before all this happened."

Even though she was 10 years old her hair was still long, going down to her waist, her eyes were not their green like in the present, they were dark brown like Ray's. Her complexion was fair and her features were Caucasian.

She took a moment to look at Ray and didn't respond, she was obviously scared whilst Ray though showing a degree of fear was not petrified. Ray spoke again, saying "I know you're scared, I am too but we need to keep together and not let the fear control us, if we let it control us we won't be able to get through this."

She nodded slightly, too scared to speak though Ray's display of kindness had helped her a bit as she suddenly clung onto him tightly as if holding on for her very life, though initially surprised Ray wrapped his arms around her and patted her back slightly as he said "I'll keep you safe, no matter what happens. Okay?" Laura finally spoke in response, saying "Okay, thank you."

* * *

Time passed and Ray made careful observations of his surroundings, the food that was given to them was better than when he was in the cell, he could have sworn that they had a darn good cook as it was beyond anything he had ever eaten before in terms of taste. On his observations both their captors and the other kids in this part of the facility as he called it were part of some cult and the only reason they took all the kids from the park was because they actually needed two individuals, one for some kind of ritual which he hoped to God wasn't lethal and the other to keep her calm. The target of the ritual was undoubtably Laura based on conversations he overheard though he had to get close because he was hard of hearing though they paid little attention to him, brushing him off as just a curious and scared kid, a mistake that would cost them later.

He was now given the means to track time, a calander in part of the room with the guards constantly updating it showed him that he had been there for over two months in total, both time in the cell and in the larger room.

Conversations with Laura had revealed they were the same age to the day, both of them being born in March and were perhaps only hours apart but from what he could piece together from this prophecy the cult followed he deduced that somehow both he and Laura were involved in it and eventually he just asked one of the older kids what it was and he told him it in full.

"The promised day will come when it will be revealed that the daughter of Kylanos will be revealed to be in the guise of a young human girl. Three years each shall pass when the time occurs that she can be awakened. Many will threaten her awakening though one man, born on the same day to the very second yet not related to her by blood shall bond with her and lead her to awakening, protecting her from those who would attempt to manipulate her for their own gain. Once she awakens either Kylanos shall return to rule or together with her equal she shall destroy the demon and usher a golden age for mankind in which the boy will be revealed to be that which even the gods worship."

When he asked about the ritual the kid explained that it was to take place the next day, and the details horrified Ray and Laura who was within earshot also heard what the "awakening" was. An ancient sword was to be thrust through her heart to awaken her true self, an otherwise fatal action.

Ray's expression of shock changed entirely after a few seconds, his face seemed to radiate hatred, even for one of such a young age. His eyes had lost their innocence, having a sort of dark "feel" to them whenever someone made eye contact, he never talked with any of the other cultists again, neither the adults nor the guards and with Laura who was merely pushed into a state of depression was isolated from them, preferring to stay in a corner and became hostile whenever someone else approached them, adult or child.

As part of this prophecy the cult had decided to have the two share a room with only one bed, a decision that would lead to their escape as when the next day came, Ray woke early and shook Laura awake, saying "Wake up, I need you to get behind the door over there and follow my lead once things start." He pointed to the space between the door next to it's hinges meaning when the door opened, they would be behind it, out of sight.

Laura felt a tear roll down her eyes as she said "Their bigger and older than us, even if we tried to fight we couldn't do anything. They're going to kill me and not-"

Ray interrupted her by placing his index finger on her lips and said "Trust me." Laura nodded and gave him a brief hug before hiding, Ray got affront of her and the two waited, in Ray's eyes was something no child should ever have.

Killing Intent.

About two hours passed, Laura grabbed Ray's hand tightly and when the door opened Ray waited and let go of Laura's grip. The man thought to look behind the door and when he did Ray quickily rammed his head into the man's vulnerable spot which caused enough pain to knock the adult onto his back as Ray quickly acted and pulled a M92F Berretta pistol from the holster, despite the weight of the gun Ray was able to hold it and along with Laura, ran out to seek an exit, the adult got up after and went after them.

He caught them trying to open a door, Ray was about to open the door when Laura screamed, the adult approached cautiously, knowing Ray had his sidearm. He said "Just calm down kid, we're not going to hurt you. Just hand me the gun." Ray took one look at the adult and said nothing, rose the pistol and with both index fingers pulled the trigger, the recoil sent the pistol back a bit but Ray had the fortune of being allowed to use firearms at a gun show once before and was not unsurprised by the recoil. As for the man, his attempt to get Ray to surrender were his last words, the bullet went right between his eyes, a short flush of blood followed by him falling back as if someone had hit his forehead with a baseball bat in terms of impact. His eyes remained open and Ray returned to opening the door, ignoring the sudden, strange, nauseating feeling in his stomach. He would vomit later because right now, he had someone to protect and if he hesitated, she would die.

Laura was petrified until Ray grabbed her hand and shouted "Come on!"

They had the fortune to find an escape before others could get to them.

* * *

Ray told everything to the police, the two ex-hostages had managed to find a police car and shouted for help though it wasn't just the shout that caught the officer off-guard, it was that the boy had a gun tucked in the side of his pants and after a tense moment relieved the young Ray of his firearm to which he had no qualms against and explained that they had escaped from armed men.

Memories continued to flow within Ray's mind as he then recalled that during his time at the station his parents and other family members arrived and when they learned of what had transpired, much like the officers they had a mixed reaction. They felt pity on them because of their kidnapping but also were concerned at the fact that Ray, only 10 years old, was forced to kill someone in self-defense. Laura's family was missing, conveniently they went missing only three days after the kidnapping happened, their house showed signs of forced entry and a scuffle meaning they were likely kidnapped, the truth was that it was a set-up scene so that suspicion wouldn't fall on them.

Following that incident Ray managed to convince his parents to adopt Laura into their family and though the incident haunted Ray slightly in his young years, he managed to get past it at age 12.

* * *

2009 AD, unaltered timeline.

* * *

Now 16, Ray and Laura had shared the same room for six years, the two were close. A second attempt by this "Cult of Kylanos" was made when they were 13 and again Ray stepped up to protect Laura to the point of "running away" instead of trusting the police to find her and eventually tracked her down to someplace in Mexico City, he had to kill 13 people to save her and at one point Laura was forced to fatally shoot one of the cultists in order to keep Ray alive who was unconscious from a gunshot wound. Complications, Good Samaritans and sheer luck had saved them several times during that adventure.

Ray woke up to get a late snack, carefully leaving the bed so as to not disturb his friend/adoptive sister and heard a sound outside.

A Birthday present from a vacation, a combat knife, was on a table nearby, he grabbed it and curiously inspected the back padio when suddenly a bright light nearly blinded him and he felt a strange sensation, as if being pulled apart but without pain or discomfort.

He woke to the sight of a humanoid in heavy armor firing a blue energy pistol at him, knocking him unconscious nearly instantly.

* * *

Shadow-Walker Research Facility, Alpha Omicron System, Imperial Kylandarian Republic

* * *

He woke with strapped arms and legs to a table, he noticed that there was an IV in each of his limbs but nothing seemed to be going through, yet.

A large tank was connected to the IVs and had a strange, pitch black substance inside it, a strange feeling was coming from it, as it were partially alive when suddenly, it began to move through the IV and into Ray's body, fear became replaced by pain, sheer and utter pain. It felt like some kind of boiling temperature and very thick fluid, as if like some kind of heavy oil was being flushed into his veins, Ray convulsed in pain, screaming to no response in an isolated room with mirrors which were actually one-way mirrors, the occupants of the observation room could see him but to Ray it was a mirror, darkly reflecting the environment he was trapped in.

The pain was unbearable, but something was keeping him from passing out, something un-natural, the very substance being injected into him was keeping him awake and though it was painful, he also felt rejuvenated to a degree until he then felt a different yet even more painful sensation, as if the recently injected material was eating him from the inside-out, tearing him apart one DNA strand at a time until it began to feel different, as if it was putting him back together, and then it repeated several times and somehow the substance prevented him from dying of a heart attack or passing out because of the stress, his pain receptors never shut down, constantly active as if defying all known medical science.

Finally it settled after a couple hours though to him it felt like days, every second was more agonizing than the last and it was at this moment that he passed out.

* * *

He woke to a rather futuristic looking room, it seemed he wasn't meant to be a prisoner this time but rather a guest. The door opened, sliding into the wall as a tall individual approached him whilst dressed in what appeared to be a regal military uniform, black with red trims.

The man spoke with a human voice, his face was human as well. He said "My name is Alpha Destriex, an inhabitant from a planet 41 lightyears from your own. I selected you because of a rare genetic marker in your body that I believed would allow you to survive the ordeal you went through. It seems I was correct as the Shadow-Walker died yet passed it's powers onto you instead of simply consuming you like the last subject.

Ray replied "Where am I right now, what about my family?" AD replied "Safe though concerned about your disappearance, we are monitoring them in real time, you can bring up our information at the computer terminal on your desk. There is much for us to talk about."

Ray's memories flashed forward, his reluctant but eventual acceptance of Alpha Destriex's terms to serve the Imperial Kylandarian Republic as a High General (In their ranking system this was a position which held authority over all military branches, in effect a General, Air General and a Grand Admiral at the same time, their equivalent of an Executive Officer who wasn't chief executive though still had executive authority over all military branches.)

Three years passed and Ray occasionally paid covert visits to his family, watching from afar as Laura was continually visiting the park he first met her at, talking to herself at times, likely hoping, somehow that Ray could hear her. She was depressed about his disappearance but valued her life, knowing Ray would never approve if she attempted suicide, her views of him were extremely high, beyond that of a friend, sister or any other relationship had determined. As far as she was concerned, he was her savior, her best friend and her brother at the same time until she said something more softly though Ray's senses had been enhanced by the procedure he went through as well as other procedures including Nano-Augmentation and Bio-Mechanical Cybernetic modifications to his eyes which allowed him to have an Augmented Reality display, a direct feed to his optic nerve allowed him to view advanced information without the worry of anyone else seeing him.

He was dressed in a white hoodie, his upper face concealed and he sat far across from Laura, she was the size of half of his index finger to his perception at that distance though his enhancements allowed him to observe and listen in on her at that distance.

Laura softly said to herself "If only you were still here, if you would come back now, I would tell you without holding back how I truly feel. Please come back to me, I love you too much to lose you forever."

He was about to get up and fulfill her request when suddenly he was contacted about an emergency on Mars, the locals were preparing a full scale invasion of Earth and Ray was to command a pacification of their forces before it could be carried out. Ray promptly left, knowing that what he was doing was still protecting Laura, if only from the shadows. After this op however, he would return directly and explain to Laura and his family exactly what had happened, and what he needs to do. If possible as well, he would try to have Laura come with him.

* * *

December 21st, 2012 AD. Unaltered Timeline.

* * *

Mars had been pacified, but Ray's assistant immediately informed him of a crisis back on Earth, Laura had been kidnapped and in the process Ray's family had either been killed or had gone into witness protection. Fury filled Ray's mind as for a brief moment as his dark brown eyes flashed golden, his subconscious abilities were awakening and he materialized around him a full armor and immediately gave a controversial order.

He shouted "Take this flagship to Earth and use the sensors to find Laura immediately, once we find her I'm taking a squad of my best and getting her out of there."

The Captain wanted to object but Ray's eyes gave the hint that he would lose his life if he did and thus he complied with the order, the Flagship notified the fleet that it was proceeding to Earth to deal with an emergency situation and would return once the crisis was dealt with.

* * *

The ship entered orbit and was cloaked, undetectable by Earth's various satellites and telescopes. Ray got onto a smaller transport with a tactical team and the dropship proceeded rapidly towards the ground, attracting two F-22 Raptors in pursuit which were too slow to intercept the dropship before it dropped below the Radar floor and activated some kind of signal jammer to avoid being detected further, yet another UFO encounter though not one that would likely be relevant for long.

Ray activated his emotion suppressants to avoid becoming compromised during the fight, his mission was to protect Laura and he wouldn't let his biology cause a problem in pursuit of that goal, the team landed in a mountain resort and he noticed that one of the cultists had Laura in the middle of a symbol which seemed demonic in nature, Laura wasn't restrained in any measure, it seemed she had lost the will to live when Ray immediately showed his powers before his squad could take a shot, his left arm deformed into a shadow-like whip, formless and shapeless the whip dashed into the skull of the cultist who would have killed his friend and suddenly the other cultists around them noticed the dropship which had landed without a sound whilst they were preoccupied with some kind of chant. Though they immediately grabbed their rifles and opened fire the IKST (Imperial Kylandarian Shock Troopers) just stood there as the bullets bounced off their armor as if they were rubber bullets despite being 7.62x12mm Full Metal Jacket lead/brass rounds which would have gone through Kevlar. Ray unlike his men however was not silently taunting them as more shadow whips broke off from his left "arm" which impaled the lead cultist, the constant gunfire however was deafening Laura and she covered her ears and ducked down before she could notice Ray, the proximity to several AK-47s firing off causing her ears to feel like they were being assaulted by jackhammers.

Ray's eyes turned from dark brown to golden and his shadow whips continued to tear into the cultists, his men were no longer not shooting because of a silent taunt but now because Ray didn't need them, effortlessly slaughtering the cultists in visual range by impaling them each in their chests.

After less than a minute the gunfire stopped, Laura slowly removed her hands from her ears and looked towards the source of the strange, formless black whips retracting back to the man who was about to kill her (and he was now missing a head) until that larger whip retracted to a sight that sent disbelief, shock and relief to her. Ray Zenji, alive and well, changed forever as his eyes seemed to be glowing a golden hue, his left arm was a formless shadow, the very whip that was retracting, oddly there was no blood on it or on the previous whips, probably absorbed into the appendage which reshaped itself once it was of normal arm's length into a human arm and hand, albeit covered in rather advanced armor.

She got up and silently began to walk slowly towards Ray who nodded and even smiled slightly, letting some emotional suppressants down but not entirely, knowing there could be more cultists nearby. Laura was about to say something when one of the cultists suddenly got up, he wasn't fatally injured because he had been born with his heart on his right instead of his left and thus Ray's shadow whip had missed the vital organ, causing only a flesh wound, one bleeding profusely but not enough to quickly kill or incapacitate. Ray was about to draw his sidearm when the cultist moved with rapid dexterity, eyes glowing red and his hair becoming a more silver color, the man was a Valkyur and likely did not know it. Grabbing and infusing the ancient blade with energy he vaulted it at Laura instead of Ray, knowing it would do nothing against Ray but at the least he could complete the ritual to spite him. The Blade moved more rapidly as if fired from a gun instead of being thrown, it impaled itself from behind through Laura's heart, the sudden pain and shock hit her rapidly and Ray's face changed immediately, her sight of his face caused a brief moment of fear. He was so angry that one could mistake such anger as being the Wrath of God.

With an instant he vaporized the Valkyrian Cultist and all the corpses around them, across all of Earth people were suddenly vaporized, in public view as well including several politicians of various countries. Laura's own family, in hiding and out of public eye, were also vaporized, unaware of what had killed them or why they were killed.

The Ancient Blade absorbed itself into Laura, turning her eyes a bright jade green and her wound healed instantly, though the blade absorbing itself into her and her eyes changing were not Ray's doing, the injury healing itself instantly was. All of this happened in only a third of a second and after the second passed during which Laura was stunned momentarily, a rift opened up, sucking both Ray and Laura into it.

* * *

2010 AD. Altered Timeline, Present Day, Nishinomiya, Japan.

* * *

The rift had propelled them to the year 1473 AD and subsequently the change the ritual had done to Laura coupled with Ray's enhancements had made the two unaging once they had reached the age of 26 years biologically. For over 500 years the two stayed out of history's way though sometimes were forced to intervene in history and learned much, such as the existence of an ancient order calling itself the Assassin's Brotherhood and that the Knights Templar had survived their purging in secret, and were formed for an entirely different reason, one that only a few of their numbers during the crusades were aware of.

History had somehow been changed, likely by Ray himself as time passed and he and Laura were never born, the two were Temporal Enigmas which meant although their families were alive, they had no knowledge of them. Ray's parents had instead given birth to a girl who was genetically Ray's twin and Laura's older sister was the only child of her family, the entire cult of Kylanos prophecy and conspiracy did not exist in the past, present or future.

During their time in the past Ray had told Laura that her eyes changed color and after looking in a mirror was shocked to an extent but still overjoyed that Ray was back into her life. Ray instantly became aware of why they were sent back in time, or rather how and what happened in the unaltered timeline. He was a Shinjin, and he had done all of that subconsciously. Afraid of himself and of the possibility that he could unknowingly cause Laura harm he destroyed his subconscious and activated his emotional suppressants at full, although they only responded to 50% as half of them had overloaded and become inert because his sheer rage had been stronger than the technology, partially because of the chemical overload and partially because he was in-fact, a blazer which meant his anger was psionically charged and directly burned out most of the nanites. As time passed the nanites that were inert left his system naturally and the functional ones replaced them through self-replication, converting nutrients and bonding them together to form more of themselves which for 30 years gave Ray a heavy appetite.

With his emotions suppressed and with Laura shocked by the sudden changes the two never mentioned anything about their feelings to eachother. Ray no longer physically felt them and Laura hid them because she realized that Ray had changed within the three years he spent wandering space and she did not want to risk causing tension between the two, that coupled with a fear of rejection, thinking that because she was his adopted sister, he might not feel that way towards her, forgetting that when the two met, they were absolute strangers and not related by blood though Ray had noticed, but kept to himself that the two had similarities not on the genetic level, but the quantum level. Something bonded the two together beyond family, a psionic link which was reinforced when the two began using telepathy and although Ray was the only one who could initiate it, because of that very bond there was no physical stress when the two were linked.

* * *

School had passed and Haruhi had given him a significant amount of leeway and free-time, likely to give him time to reveal his feelings for Laura which he intended to do after their meeting with Selvaria.

The meeting itself was uneventful, simple revelations such as the fact that Haruhi was now fully aware of what she is and what she can do. Selvaria was concerned that she might be reacting adversely to the revelations but Laura replied that she was reacting very similarly to how Ray reacted when he learned of his powers. Confused, yet accepting of them and also unwilling to risk changing something important by altering history or physics, his accidental temporal rift had taught him that. Haruhi seemed to have taken the news better as she wasn't provoked by stress and anger but rather by a deduction which was confirmed by Ray.

Selvaria later departed to her residence leaving Ray and Laura alone near the stream that Kyon had heard Mikuru's confession of being a time traveler.

It was night and the stars were shining brightly, Laura noticed Ray staring at the stars as if he still held some wonder as to what they were and said "Is there something on your mind?" Ray nodded and replied "Yeah, I've been thinking about the past, remembering all the hard times we've gone through before history changed. Only our direct memories are transferred during telepathy, not our feelings or more subtle memories." Laura looked at him seriously and listened as he continued. He resumed speaking, saying "I remember one time I was covertly visiting you, about four hours before that cult took you for the last time. I overheard what you were saying to yourself." Laura looked down at the stream for a moment and spoke, saying "Ray, if we're going to talk about that, I want you to promise not to treat or look at me differently than before." Ray nodded and said "I promise." Laura replied "Thank you, I want you to know that, I still feel that way, from the day we met, before the cult took us, I found you cute and interesting, of course we were just 10 back then but the feeling never went away. When I felt alone and scared, you came up to me in that room, I fell in love with you wholeheartedly that day and I was too shy to confess my feelings. I had planned to do that the day after you were abducted but because of the abduction I wasn't able to. I've always loved you, it's why I've always stood by your side all these years, past and present. It's a little strange right now though because you're still undercover technically, biologically you're 17 and I'm 22 but chronologically we're both the same, down to the last second. I never said anything before because I thought that because I was adopted into your family that you only saw me as a sister, I was afraid you didn't feel the same way."

Laura stared at the stream in silence when Ray, rather surprisingly embraced her in a hug much like the one she gave him those many years ago (centuries to their point of view). Ray spoke softly, saying "I've felt the same way from the start as well, I suppressed my emotions so I wouldn't accidentally hurt you with closed space or if I would lose control of my shadow abilities, it has happened before. The first feeling I got back when I released the suppressants was this one that I feel right now." A tear rolled down Laura's left eye as she returned Ray's embrace, saying "This feels out of place almost, not just because of our concealed ages but because you're the Imperator, I'm just a Praetorii whose been designated as Epsilon." Ray replied "Laura, we've been together long before the Kylandarian Empire became involved, we've been friends, adoptive siblings and comrades in arms years before we associated ourselves with the empire and during our tenure there, before I became Imperator. There's nothing out of place here, just one man and one women in love with eachother."

Laura gripped slightly tighter and was about to say something when Ray again surprised her, she had never seen Ray act so directly before, he was always evasive or over-explanative in his speech and actions but now he wasn't dancing around any questions, he wasn't being overly descriptive, he was being simple and direct.

That moment, that feeling mattered more to her than anything else when he pulled her into a kiss, softly holding her for what seemed an eternity.

That moment lasted for more than three minutes before both of them broke the kiss slowly at around the same time. Laura didn't say anything and neither did Ray, the two just smiled at eachother and got out of the bench. Ray broke the silence and said "There are still some things left to do. As much as I want this moment to last the night we still have to deal with the fact that Haruhi is now aware. She told me she wouldn't reply to my offer of becoming a Praetorii until later, most likely during or after she graduates from High School here on Earth. I also have to inform the rest of the SOS-dan that she is no longer in the dark about her powers."

Laura nodded and said "I know, just because we're open with eachother now doesn't change the fact that you're still the Imperator of a Galactic Superpower and thus you have responsibilities." Ray nodded and said "I'll see you tomorrow Laura, for now, good night." Laura nodded and said "Good night.".

The two walked in opposite directions, each with a smile on their face and feeling calm and peaceful. Ray felt as if a large burden had been lifted from his shoulders as he knew that although the galaxy was heading possibly into the largest military conflict since the Drona War, he wouldn't be facing it alone.

* * *

POV Shift - Suzumiya Haruhi

* * *

Haruhi had managed to mask her presence and followed Ray to the meeting. She didn't have much care for the meeting Ray and Laura had with Selvaria and was more interested in seeing if Ray would tell Laura how he felt like he said he would yesterday and indeed he did. Haruhi felt mixed feelings when she saw the two kiss.

She felt happy for Ray but also felt a bit of regret within herself, she did not want to admit it but ever since Ray had revealed to her that he wasn't an ordinary human she had felt an interest towards him that was beyond curiosity. Still she took it well, accepting that there was still a chance she might be able to live a happy life and the knowledge that there were others out there who were inordinary humans that might also be socially considerate unlike most terran men who only focus on intimacy whilst at the same time she knew there were some terran people who knew what was right and what was wrong. Haruhi quietly walked off, using her newfound abilities to avoid even Ray's extremely high senses. To her parents she had gone to bed though she promptly snuck out afterwards, using her abilities to avoid making any sounds or being detected. It was scary to her in a way, that she had so much power. It was worse that there was a galactic power out there, the Valkyur, that were waging war in her name despite the fact she neither approved of it nor even was aware of it until recent revelations. Haruhi was torn on whether to try and change Earth into a better place or accept Ray's offer to become a Praetorii. Either way, once she was a far enough distance from Ray she released the stealth she had placed around her and teleported herself into her room without a sound and promptly got into bed, too tired to change out of her school uniform which she had kept on as she was with the rest of the SOS-dan fiddling about with the computers and playing board games. She still hadn't told the rest that she was now aware but was certain that Ray would do so, she had after-all overheard everything he and Laura talked about.

For now, she would let sleep claim her and had decided to accept Ray's advice. She would keep her emotions for better or worse.

* * *

To be continued...


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Sins of the Past.

"There comes a time when your creations are used against you. One perilous moment in history is when this happened literally, and the creations were ."

* * *

Foreword: In the previous chapter a typo made me place one of the dates as 2010 when it should have been 2015, I will fix this later once I complete this story as I am currently too focused on placing out new chapters. I've also noticed a few inconsistencies which I look forward to fixing with future chapters explaining things in a certain manner.

* * *

Flashback 1932 A.D. Earth Time. - Location : Kylandor, Kylandari System, 41 lightyears from Sol (Not visible to Earth due to a system-wide cloaking system)

* * *

It had taken little effort to become reassociated with the IKR. Ray displayed his shadow-walker abilities which impressed Imperator Alpha Destriex (and made his project Shadow-Walker no longer necessary as here was someone from an alternate timeline in which it had succeeded. But now a new project was set for Ray, Laura his childhood friend was by his side, a specialist serving directly under him and she had just finished the training necessary to be on active service.

Alpha Destriex had approached Ray (Because of his intricate knowledge on physics which surpassed his own which was saying something as at the time Alpha Destriex was considered the smartest mind in the known galaxy, making Earth's most brilliant seem like 3 year olds by comparison.) to build an automated fighting force so the Empire could expand rapidly without thinning out it's military forces, giving them time to recruit from recently conquered planets which had not yet developed past the steam engine in technology.

He had finished, he had built what he identified as a Bladewalker, a bipedal machine integrated with nanite-coated Durantium blades which were also given a high-frequency treatment (Allowing them to cut through anything and assimilate the target by a technology/technique known as Nanite-Hacking in which the target is encased, injected or coated with self-replicating nanomachines which physically restrain and control the target forcibly until it can completely replace it with the parameters of another Bladewalker, meaning all it took was a single cut and an enemy soldier would be forced to fight for the IKR and within a short period of time i.e. 5 minutes, would be painfully transformed into another Bladewalker, the person killed and the physical materials re-organized into a bio-mechanical bladewalker until the Nanites could reach a point to replace the remaining bio-tissue with mechanical materials, the same could be done to enemy vehicles and ships, forcibly taking manual control over things such as turrets and later reprogramming both in software and hardware the computer systems to the point where they could manually destroy the previous operating chip, digitizing it's data and altering it and replicating it to bypass any method of software security I.E. firewalls. At the time this technology came out, there was no defense sort of, within 2 seconds, amputating the afflicted limb or ejecting the impacted system/section of a ship or vehicle.)

As the years passed Alpha Destriex wanted increased autonomy and following Earth's first successful atomic test at Los Alamos in the late 1940s and subsequently their use of nuclear weapons in their own domestic conflict in 1945 the IKR had decided at Ray's request to station a fleet over Earth and apply the Firstworld Doctrine, this saw a period of conflict with the Anidori Confederation of Alliances who had managed to covertly influence Germany's Head of State into his warmongering ways. Though Earth's conflict was over, the IKR had decided to field test the new weapons, identified in general as The Drona.

The Drona performed well and after the conflict were augmented with new, unique designs and even entirely automated ships and fleets were built, at Ray's iniative which was accepted by the IKR's operations and government was giving them fully functional AIs and complex programs as well as a Failsafe Explosive Device in the event they "Got any ideas."

Among the Drona's ground unit designs the three most common were:

Bladewalker, Triangular Head Core which contained one of the three CPUs, used as the primary CPU system and if damaged or destroyed one of the other redundant CPUs would kick in to maintain the unit's operational status and combat ability as well as it's intelligence. Body chasis based on human structuring with a well armored chest unit which contained the other two redundant CPUs, one in the area where the human heart would be and the other where the liver would be, the entire unit was a snow white color with the exception of on the head which had two red eyes which acted as visual and thermal detection whereas across the torso unit and the limbs were SONAR and RADAR sensors for both advanced detection and redundant backup detection in the event the head unit was destroyed or rendered otherwise inoperative, all three CPUs had a self-destruct system with a per-week rotated self destruct code. Primary Weapons were two nanite-blades, single edged with a scimitar design, these made up the unit's entire lower-arm sections and on the blunt side were semi-automatic pulse cannons for ranged combat though the rapid mobility of the legs meant the unit was primarily designed for close quarters combat, specifically clearing structures such as homes or facilities and relied more on it's blades than it's pulse cannons. The Unit itself was approximately 6"10 in height and at distance had the profile of a human armed with two swords and a triangular pyramid-like head.

Quadruped, No head core, no redundant CPUs, one primary CPU in the center chasis which was a simple disc shaped core with four legs on the sides for mobility. In the center core was a top-mounted Plasma Turret, the Unit looked somewhat like a four-legged spider with a top-mounted turret. Shield Emitters protected the otherwise vulnerable and lightweight frame which was weaker physically than the Bladewalker. Designed to act as General Infantry and usually the Plasma Cannon was of infantry grade firepower. The Height of the unit was approximately 4"8 and the length was approximately 5"3 with an even design that wasn't longer or shorter on any of it's sides.

APTML Combat Strider, massive armored Drona unit with three heavily armored legs mounted as a Tripod system, a heavily armored chasis which with the legs made the unit stand at 20 feet with a simple rectangular shaped core which mounted in the front and back on the bottom sectors a twin heavy plasma cannon turret (One front and one back) with a 245 degree rotational axis. Topside mounts were a quad-turret also one front and one back which featured a lower caliber plasma cannon but could rapid-fire for attacking aerial targets, these weapons were 360 degree rotational turrets and in the center chasis on the topside was a missile silo capable of holding 80 missiles which were typically either fragmentation missiles filled with nanite-hacking methods or more often plasma explosive charges which were capable of engaging Corvette type vessels with reasonable success and were also capable of long-ranged and medium ranged Missile-Artillery support. The sheer mass of the unit made it capable of a top speed of only 32 Miles-Per-Hour but it's bulky build along with a kinetic dispersal landing system (Which forcibly disperses the kinetic force of the landing around it instead of solely hitting on the legs meaning it could land from a high altitude without complication) which made it capable of effective air-drop from 30,000 feet and immediately upon landing could execute combat actions, often these units were deployed to support IKST units which landed in drop pods which also had the KDLS (Kinetic Dispersal Landing System).

These Three combat units were constantly updated not by the IKR but by the drone themselves when after the Anidori War was over, the Drona on their own initiative (though approved by the IKR) built a massive FTL Communication Capable Central Networking System which enabled them to structure and organize independent of Kylandarian Officers and thus could operate outside the Chain of Command with exception to WMD use which required authorization from a General or higher (Only when striking ground targets or dealing with weapons which exploded with the radius of a planet, particularly Anti-matter weaponry.)

It was codenamed "Drona Central Control System" or DCCS.

By the time the year 1980 came, the Drona had managed to circumnavigate with the DCCS' assistance the failsafe and started a war lasting 20 years and technically was still ongoing as there still are small and isolated remnants of the Drona but when the Drona War began, the IKR was on the losing side. It wasn't until the Drona began attacking Transvaal and Valkyur territory did the tide turn against the machines.

* * *

Present Day, 2015, Earth - Location: Strategic Air Command, Colorado, USA.

* * *

An Airman monitoring the RADAR grid took notice of a fast moving object, DexCorp had sold a new system to the US Air Force and now it was starting to pay off, this large object was moving Mach 20 and was zig-zagging across the continental US on an indirect course for the west coast.

He called the officer in charge and after several short and moderately lengthed conversations agreed to scramble three F-22 Raptors from Nellis AFB to try and get a visual on the target as that was all that would have been remotely possible as no craft the USAF had could intercept this thing that was capable of engaging in combat, not yet anyway.

* * *

Cockpit of a YF-22 Raptor, modified with new equipment such as sensors and electronic warfare equipment, 23 minutes later

* * *

Takeoff had gone without incident, the Pilot was approaching the UFO with cameras on and recording, he and his flight would make contact in 30 seconds at this rate, it would only be for a moment that he would have a chance to capture a visual of the high-flying craft when it began to slow down to Mach 3 and was no longer zig-zagging, heading at the Raptors directly.

The Pilot got on his radio and said "Avenger One to flight, Unidentified Bogey has slowed and is on an intercept course with our flight. Avenger One to command, craft is on intercept cou-" His message was cut short with a blue pulse of energy erupted from the craft, now in visual range. It was pure white with a dart like design, it had rather small navigational wings and had four of them, it looked more like a large missile than a fighter craft yet two turrets at it's sided had just shot down the Raptor with ease, it's stealth properties useless to whatever method of detection this craft was using.

Immediately the other two raptors broke formation to evade the weapons fire from the hostile UFO which outmaneuvered them and moved behind one Raptor and quickly shot it down as his wingman let loose a pair of AIM-120 AMRAAMs which suddenly veered off course and exploded in the air as the UFO did a supposedly impossible maneuver. It turned a 180 degree without losing it's momentum or direction and whilst flying backwards immediately shot down the Raptor and then quickly shifted into a forward movement which normally should have killed any human pilot as it was being hit by 32Gs of inertial force from the maneuver, no aviation suit of terran design could withstand that much force without sending the pilot unconscious at the very least.

It resumed it's zig-zag pattern and Mach 20 velocity as the Air Force attempted to intercept it with Surface-To-Air Missiles now that it was over Nellis.

* * *

Nellis AFB, Nevada, USA.

* * *

The unidentified craft slowed to sub-sonic speeds and with an advanced electronic warfare device forced the oncoming SAMs to veer back into their launchers, having been turned on their controllers, all known failsafes were not responding. The Craft strafed the airfield's hangars and runway with a barrage of blue dart like bolts of plasma leaving behind charred and cauterized impact craters, as some hit the sand outside the airfield it instantly turned the surrounding 3 feet of each impact area into an eerie and smoldering blue tinted glass which was liquid for a second until it cooled into a solid.

That one strafing run had taken out most of the Airfield's defenses and aircraft as the UFO darted at mach 20, intent on crossing the Pacific Ocean whilst the USAF continued to track it via satellite, the craft seemed to care not about the satellites as it had just determined that Earth's military strength couldn't intercept a simple fighter, until it was approached by two non-terrestrial designed craft which were also showing up on US Radar, but this was seemingly a courtesy as after a moment, they disappeared from RADAR, leaving only the UFO on the screen.

* * *

17,000 Feet above Honolulu - POV - IKNF (Imperial Kylandarian Naval Forces) XF-145 Strife Interceptor

* * *

Two IKNF Interceptors had been scrambled to deal with this craft that had violated the Firstworld Doctrine, it had not replied to challenge and made a short-range FTL jump to enter Earth's atmosphere before it could be intercepted, a tactic the two Strife Pilots had repeated to intercept it though it had been too late as it had already destroyed 3 American F22s and incapacitated Nellis AFB.

The craft had an unmistakable design, something that drew fear in even these IKNF Pilots.

A Drona X-6 Dart albeit with modernized equipment and weapons. Usually the Drona Remnants stayed away from the Quragon Sector (the Region of space in which Earth and Kylandor [The IKR's homeworld] resided, a sector of space entirely controlled or allied with the IKR) though this particular example had decided to sneak to the sol system via the Ne'Meann Expanse.

One Strife launched a missile which was unaffected by the Dart's Electronic Warfare Systems but the Dart had made a 180 turn while maintaining it's direction and velocity and promptly fired a burst of plasma pulses which destroyed the missile and forced the strifes to break formation to evade the barrage when suddenly the Dart moved in their direction, intending to engage the Kylandarian Strike Craft. Across the entire region of the Hawaiian Islands these craft were maneuvering and evading Plasma Fire or Helion Fire (The Kylandarians had developed the means to utilize and generate Helion Energy which was the name they gave it, Earth had no equivalent as they had not yet discovered this type of energy which was capable of outclassing even Anti-Matter if used in high quantities. Anti-Matter was a physical material whilst Helion Energy was unique in that it somehow had bonded both Positive and Negative charges despite conventional rules of magnetism as understood by Terrans. A unique particle within the makeup reversed the + and - charges and allowed them to combine without causing a chain reaction until it came into contact with a foreign material or substance of substantial atom-count, meaning a planet, ship or person. A grain of sand would trigger the chain reaction though individual atoms such as the dispersed hydrogen atoms present across the wrongly-assumed emptiness of space were simply rendered inert by the pulse of the energy, insufficient mass and charge in these sparse atoms existed as much more was required to act as a catalyst to Helion Energy.)

The two craft maneuvered at a level impossible for any aircraft Earth had, operating perfectly at velocities as high as Mach 20 and even higher as it was demonstrated in some maneuvers they were capable of entering velocities which made the Mach scale laughably small.

The Dart began to move horizontally left whilst firing a spray of plasma shots at a Strife which darted at Mach 44 vertically down and whilst still facing the Dart despite its direction of motion, unleashed a spray of Helion fire which reacted to a defensive shield on the Dart whilst the Strife's wingman launched a different type of missile which revealed itself to be a MIRV (Multipule Independent Re-entry Vehicle) by terran terms (The Kylandarians identified this as a MWBM [Multipule Warhead Ballistic Missile] as obviously in space, there is no atmospheric re-entry.)

The Battle was now over the skies of, according to a cruel twist of fate, Nishinomiya, Suzumiya Haruhi's city of residence and where the Imperator Ray Zenji was currently present.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji, the day after he revealed his feelings to Laura

* * *

Ray walked out of his home, ready for a day of school when he suddenly looked up, his heightened senses unnecessary as his Nanites were now streaming the fight which brought out genuine concern in the Imperator, he began to walk to school, eyes affront but his attention on the AR Display which was viewing the AR display of the two IKNF XF-145s which were at least 19,000 feet above him now, out of visual range but nevertheless there, fighting something of his own creation by extension.

Haruhi met up with him oddly on his way to school just as he said, within her earshot "F**k" in English. Haruhi heard this and understood what the word meant, she had taken her English classes seriously after-all. She spoke, saying "Something the matter?" Ray replied "Let's just say my sins of the past are coming back to haunt not just me, but the entire Earth." Haruhi spoke again in a serious tone, saying "Is it the Valkyur?" Ray shook his head as his AR display showed the barrage of missiles hitting the Dart's shields, the sensors showed a 43% power drop in the target's shields which meant it was still in action, the sheer distance was all that prevented the sight from being visible on the ground. Ray then said "Focus your senses about 19,000 feet up, something I designed for war many decades ago is fighting two Kylandarian Interceptors." Haruhi immediately focused her sense upward, noticing immediately the three craft above them. The Plasma and Helion bolts were somehow set to dissipate after a certain time which prevented them from continuing all the way to the city and thus thanks to that, no buildings were randomly torn to pieces by the dogfight above them. Newton's First Law of Motion afterall is referred to in the galaxy as the Conventional Motion Law which is exactly the same. "An Object in Motion Stays in motion unless acted upon by an outside force.".

As the two walked Haruhi couldn't help but let the sights of the fight in which she could see so clearly, this was out of visual range, 19,000 feet up and she was able to see it because of her abilities. Immediately the Dart shifted right to evade a burst of Helion Fire only for the attacking Strife's wingman to fire another MWBM at it, draining it's shields to 11% as the main Strife got lucky with a burst of Helion fire and downed the craft, the two pilots, plus Ray said, rather quickly to the level that they all said it simultaneously, "Shit."

Ray kept his eyes on the wreckage whilst Haruhi refocused on her surroundings instead of the fight which she assumed was now over, though to her she didn't know Ray's focus was still on the wreckage as he was observing the AR display and not physically looking up like Haruhi was.

The wreckage was heading for the outskirts of the city, Ray had noticed three Bladewalkers in the debris using Optical Cloaking though Bladewalkers lacked a KDLS which meant when they hit the ground, their cloaking was damaged beyond repair, but nevertheless, three Drona were on Earth now, uncomfortably close to Suzumiya Haruhi and Kazahana Sasaki, thankfully however most of the ground team was close to the landing site and would engage the modernized Bladewalkers, but that was a tale Ray was no longer focusing on, knowing that 10 years into the Drona War a defense against Nanite-Hacking was developed, it was ironically a "reverse nanite-hacking" in which nanites with similar functions would seek out the Drona Nanites and directly attack them by attempting to fry out their CPU with a surgical laser, at that scale, both offensive weapons and defensive methods were usually limited to Lasers and a brutal melee between two nanites which would resemble two Praying Mantises fighting with their claws. The downside is that if it was a person afflicted by this, they would be temporarily incapacitated and quite honestly would go through symptoms similar to Leprosy until either the Drona Nanites won out and Nanite Hacked the victim or the defensive nanites won out and the conventional medical nanites along with more intensive treatment could assist. The problem was depending on where the nanite-hacking injury was located, sometimes your arm or leg would simply fall off because the miniaturized battle within the injury would act like acid, eating the connecting tissue and bone and thus severing the limb but to Kylandarian Medical Technology, losing a limb, any limb, was not permanent as genetics sciences allowed them to clone and reconnect limbs or organs by simply taking a sample from the injured individual and then using the various genetic markers and DNA/RNA sequences to clone it. It was simply a few blood-draws and biopsies (which were less complicated and could be done on the field if necessary as medical equipment in the IKR was substantially more advanced) and then a single injection near the severed limb (if multiple limbs were lost still only one injection was given, it is administered near-injury to speed up the process, if only by a minute or two) and coupled with the conventional nanites already present (or injected if the person didn't have them, such as a non-kylandarian citizen) would inhibit any pain or even unusual sensations, it would cause numbness, acting in the area as a local Anesthetic whilst the limb regenerates within 2 - 4 minutes depending on how many limbs were lost and where the regenerative bio-nanites (the delivery method of the cloning process programmed the regeneration in a series of nanites which would then act as regenerating tissue and cells, meaning the natural cells would not need to split as much in order to heal the wound, meaning the person's lifespan would not be affected by the rapid regeneration.) were injected.

* * *

North High, 30 minutes later

* * *

On their way to the school Haruhi decided to reveal that she had hidden herself and spied on Ray which caused him a slight degree of annoyance until he decided to brush it off as there was no sensitive information, aside from things Haruhi could learn via closed space, left to keep from Haruhi. Ray merely made a dismissive wave at Haruhi when she mentioned it though quite obviously the two won't be talking about it. Ray intends to remain in Haruhi's presence until graduation in which is likely when she will reveal her decision on whether or not to become a Praetorii or if she wants to simply remain on Earth.

Later on in the clubroom the SOS-dan had gathered and Haruhi was present.

Ray had specifically requested a full attendance here and that request was met. Ray spoke, saying "Well now that you're all here, I am going to reveal something to you all. Suzumiya Haruhi is now fully aware of what sh-"

Koizumi slammed his fist on the main table hard and with anger, shouting "And just what gives you the right to tell her that much information so quickl-" Koizumi is interrupted, rather surprisingly by Haruhi herself, who says "I deduced this on my own based on indirect information given to me and based on what the Valkyria that Ray encountered at the haunted mansion we stayed at said. To calm you down I will say I have no intentions of altering history or changing the laws of physics, the universe is already interesting enough for me. The only remaining issue is that I haven't yet decided whether or not I will join Ray's Praetorii which as he explained are basically a specialized unit acting both as his personal guard and a division under his command and his command alone." Ray spoke before Koizumi could reply to her, saying "No, the appointed Epsilon has limited authority in terms of positioning and non-strategic goals when their status isn't active, when their status is activated they have absolute authority over the Praetors unless I countermand those orders or if those orders would contradict orders I have given beforehand unless I stated before in said orders that there is room for change if I am out-of-contact."

Koizumi clenched his fist, the thought of Haruhi leaving Earth and cutting ties felt infuriating to him, though he also decided to calm down a bit as Haruhi was the one making the choice and could refuse if she wanted to. Before his mission had been to keep her ignorant, now he decided it would be to try and dissuade her from accepting this offer, however he did know that Kyon would probably try to get in his way. He had his work cut out for him though a part of him was greatly relieved as now not only for him, but the entire agency, closed space would no longer appear randomly and a lot of stress would be relieved because of a lack of constant battle. They could now focus entirely on Haruhi's safety and dealing with the Pro-Sasaki group.

Mikuru was a bit confused, likely because to her now non-applicable timeline, this never happened though personally she was hopeful, perhaps although it had not happened in the way she wanted it to, the event she had come here to stop would not happen.

Nagato simply nodded her head, to the IDTE their purpose here was to observe Suzumiya Haruhi, whether or not she was aware of her powers was not their concern and the only reason they assisted in the cover-up was self-preservation. Now that it has been revealed she has no intent to alter reality at that level, she was no longer perceived as a threat though continued observation was necessary both to try and find a means for their own evolution and in the event she changes her mind, humans were like that. When the IDTE committed to something, it would not stop unless it's very existence was threatened and there was no way to meet it's goals without perishing. Humans however were perceived as short-minded, unable to commit to something or keep their goals in mind with some exceptions though somehow the IDTE had not encountered the other factions of the Galaxy, it was slowly being revealed that Humanity was just as worthy of being observed in detail as much as Suzumiya Haruhi who was a Shinjin although according to Ray, being a Shinjin did not deprive you of your humanity.

Kyon felt a massive degree of relaxation, his general mission was over though because Haruhi had not yet decided, his school-time here would need to be finished as after-all, that was his second objective, her admission into the Praetorii.

After a moment of silence the group decided to keep their usual routine, Haruhi although satisfied with her surroundings still remained eccentric and wanted to find more, saying that "I know the mysterious is around me but there are other things out there worth finding. I won't stop just because I get a small piece of the world, I want to see it all."

* * *

Outskirts of Nishinomiya, Mountainous Terrain, 15 minutes after School.

* * *

One of their numbers had been shredded upon landing, IKST forces had torn it apart with Helion Energy small arms, ripping through it's personal shields and frying all three of it's CPUs.

The other two were proceeding uphill, away from the city as the IKST were in pursuit, one of the Bladewalkers suddenly turned towards the IKST and fired a burst of Ion Pulses at a modernized frequency and strength though these IKST were fully equipped, equipped with personal shields that managed to hold most of the impacts, one of the IKST soldiers however had taken a hit through his shields and it severed his left leg but in an act of spite combined with the fact that his nanites prevented it from affecting him adversely in terms of pain, managed to return fire with his rifle and destroyed the Bladewalker, the third focused it's shield energies forward and charged firing Ion bolts from it's left arm and charging the HF Blade on it's right only for one of the IKST to pull out a long-barreled heavy rifle which fired a heavy plasma pulse which ripped through the shields and armor of the unit, completely destroying the torso along with both redundant CPUs, the head, unable to move but still active stared at another IKST soldier who took out a pistol and fired several Helion Energy bolts at it's CPU, ending the machine's life.

* * *

5:49 PM, POV Shift - Suzumiya Haruhi

* * *

All but Ray were present at the café the SOS-dan normally met at but Haruhi knew he wasn't going to be there as did the others, he said he had other plans that he wasn't going to change and Haruhi took a guess at what though kept it to herself, he was likely spending time with Laura. Haruhi had gotten over her emotional confusion rather quickly, despite all the things that had happened she was still Suzumiya Haruhi and that included that she wasn't focusing on such pursuits.

* * *

POV Shift - Selvaria Bles.

* * *

Selvaria was still at North High, going over some files which were separated into two stacks, one was a stack of files about the History lessons planned and the other was about a planned school trip to Hokkaido, the new principal who had transferred in from America was funding it personally and Selvaria, now a Praetorii went over a file on her AR Display.

Current Position: Principal of North Prefecture High School, Nishinomiya.

Current Alias: Iroquois Pliskin

Real Name: David Smith

Previous Alias: Solid Snake

Previous Occupation: US Armed Forces, Special Unit FOXHOUND

Suspected Intent: Investigating rumors on SEELE's Project Zeus which the physical chasis is known to be derived from the Metal Gear project that existed in the US, particularly they are constructing it with a design based on the model REX whilst incorporating some elements from the RAY design. Likely Intent is to destroy Project Zeus.

Assessment: Possible Ally, has connections including a very efficient and gifted Programmer, Hacker and Designer who is referred to as "Otacon" Likely Metal Gear REX Lead Developer Hal Emmerich as the nickname Otacon has been used to mention him by his fellow developers during the Arms-Tech & DARPA research on the Metal Gear President. Intent to destroy Zeus if proven will mean that he would be cooperative to the extent of eliminating the project's threat posed by SEELE and NERV, likely will also assist in destruction of the Evangelion Units coded EVA-00 to EVA-04 if a covert approach is taken. If an active approach is taken it is likely he will attempt to oppose us as a direct attack on Tokyo's port district and the outskirts in which both a JSDF force and NERV HQ is located will give the impression we are invading directly unless he is made informed and agrees with our intentions.

Another file was on the AR display after she had read through Pliskin's file, it was about a non-terran individual in Tokyo.

Current Position: Customer Service Call Respondent

Current Alias: Yusa Emi

Real Name: Legally Yusa Emi, Non-Terrestial Name is Emilia Justina

Previous Alias: Hero Emilia, non terrestrial identification given by inhabitants of a Valkyrian Puppet World known as Ente Isla.

Previous Occupation: Freelance Soldier fighting against various Ente Islan non-human and humanoid creatures who self-identify as demons.

Suspected Intent: Assassination of Sadao Maou, a full-time worker at a MgRonalds in Hatagaya District in Tokyo and formerly an Ente Islan Demon King who was intent on pacifying Ente Isla in hopes that under his rule the humans would not be able to wage inter-species wars but a combination of him permitting his generals using unethical tactics and the general prejudice against demons by humans followed with his lack of public statements or appearances has painted him as an evil dictator bent on world domination when intel and tactics suggest rather as a Peacekeeper intent on global unification of Ente Isla. Recent intel suggests however that she has lost her intent to kill Sadao Maou and is content to live a civilian's life without incident, may intend to return to Ente Isla to deal with the corruption in the planet's leading religious and political power simply known as The Church. Note: The Church is a puppet of the Valkyur Regency and the Valkyur masquerade as Angels to manipulate them without a direct invasion, Ente Islan Humans are however recognized by them as they all have psionic capacity higher than Terrans.

Other Notes: Mixed Ethnics include Pureblood Valkyrian Genetics from Maternal side, Ente Islan Human Genetics from Paternal side. Believes herself as Half-Angel and Half-Human, unaware of the Valkyur. Hostile with fellow Valkyur Pureblood identified as Sariel who intends to steal a Psionic Weapon that is infused with Emilia's physical body known as Better Half. Weapon grade could match modern Pulseblade Weapons and perhaps even Blazer and Valkyur Ethereal Swords. Manifests her Human Psionic abilities but not her Valkyrian Abilities however her mixed ethnic causes her psionic form to change her natural hair color which is Red and her Natural Eye Color which is a yellowish emerald color into Valkyrian White and Valkyrian Red respectively.

Our Intentions: Possible Praetorii Recruitment Canidate, will approach at best possible moment. Request that Selvaria Bles, Praetorii Lieutenant Second Class handle recruitment due to both women being Valkyria. Note: Although her legal age is 20 due to Japanese Records her actual biological and chronological age is between 17 and 18 years of age, unable to determine exactly due to lack of observation priority.

Selvaria deactivated her AR display after reading them, she did not keep it active at all times like Raymond as she preferred to see the world with her own eyes though it had greatly assisted her when she had to deal with the Transvaal and Valkyur kidnappers that day Haruhi was kidnapped as she otherwise was not yet fully used to fighting opponents at supersonic velocities both from her own inexperience and the fact that she was just getting used to being able to move at such speeds.

She would be heading to her residence soon but a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in" she said and in walked a woman, age about 29 years old, dark raven hair and in civilian clothes, specifically a white button shirt and blue jeans. Selvaria herself had a simple Black Sweatshirt and black sweats, finding them comfortable and modest at the same time although occasionally she had to beat back the feeling of annoyance when the male students focused more on her than the teaching part. Sure she had occasionally gotten undue attention before in her life but on Earth it happened more often, causing her to return their perverted stares with a glare of hostility which scared them into paying attention to the lesson and not her chest. Selvaria didn't need to activate her powers to project fear into someone else, she was perfectly capable of doing that as an ordinary human and just as much she could display a calm, beautiful smile occasionally, more often here on Earth than on Tortana due to a lack of military conflict on the scale going on in her home planet.

The woman introduced herself as Katsuragi Misato, a name that caught Selvaria's attention. Ray had informed her of this individual and her affiliation with NERV.

Selvaria said "Is there something I can help you with?" Misato replied by pulling out a piece of paper from her left pocket in her jeans and said "This is a Non-Disclosure agreement I need you to sign before we continue this conversation." Selvaria sighed and said "I suppose you are unaware of my affiliation then. I will not take part nor assist NERV and by extension SEELE in their goals. If you intend to insist like with Ray then I will give you the same response he did, in the same manner." Her eyes glowed Red though she had not yet flowed enough of her power to exhibit the cobalt flames or a change of her hair color from snow white to it's slight blue tint. Her hair now pure white as she had learned how to suppress her abilities to avoid detection as quite obviously a medical test even of Japanese standards could detect that she wasn't an ordinary human but a combination of her nanites and her ability to restrain her powers fools them every time.

Misato sighed and said "I have no intention of insisting at this time of day nor in such a public place but while you are in this country there are actions I can take to put pressure on you." Selvaria replied with a tone that suggested she was challenging Misato to follow up on her threat, saying "If that is true then why haven't you attempted such tactics on Ray Zenji?"

Misato stared back for a moment, the reason was that she had tried that only for the paperwork to never reach the right places or people on the other side of the law disappearing and reappearing dead in another place. Ray Zenji had influence and power at levels where he was most likely also above the law, if Selvaria Bles had the same protections, then there was no way Misato could coerce her to spy on the SOS-dan for NERV. With a sigh of defeat Misato put the piece of paper back into her pocket and left. However she had her minds set on making a deal with the devil as there was another entity she could make a deal with that was unofficially above the law.

Abstergo Industries.

* * *

POV Shift - Ray Zenji. The small stream where Mikuru told Kyon he was a time traveler, now referred to as "The Park", 6:00 PM

* * *

He had gotten there on time, making a few stops along the way since he had free time beforehand. Laura was waiting on the same bench the two had shared their first kiss.

Sitting next to her he said "As much as I just want to enjoy today, we do need to talk about what to do about the possibility of a Drona Remnant force attacking Earth. Before they've never showed interest in a planet they viewed as 'backwater' but if they have found out about Suzumiya Haruhi and Kazahana Sasaki, they may try to find a way to capture them and steal their abilities, something that whilst impossible wouldn't stop them from trying."

Laura nodded and said "When I was notified of the incident I increased security across the entry points for the Sol System. There are only so many places you can enter from because of the unique properties of the Sun with the exception being Hyperspatial Jump Drive, something that as far as we know, the Drona do not have access to. We should try and scout out some places that are considered remote and perhaps send patrols across the Ne'Meann Expanse. Although it holds no value to anyone it could be used as a place to hide because of that fact."

Ray nodded in response and then said "Sounds like a good idea. If they do proceed to try and attack Earth we'll deploy Hyperspace inhibitor fields around the Sol System. You'll need to notify Dexter McPhereson about it though because DexCorp's covert exploration projects use Hyperspace Drives we sold them." Laura nodded and smiled slightly saying "Well, that pretty much covers anything official with this meeting. Did you have any plans today aside just enjoying the tranquil scene around this park?" Ray grinned and said "Well it's something that I've planned ahead but specifically today there's not much to do unless you want to be involved with the SOS-dan's antics." Laura replied "Well it might be nice, there really is nothing wrong with a teacher befriending her students and well technically our relationship isn't wrong, not if we revealed the truth to officals that is." Ray nodded and replied "As much as I want to, there is still the issue that if SEELE and NERV get wind of our relationship they might try to use you against me. Of course they have no real chance of doing that but I don't want to put any stress on you. I remember the look on your face when I first used my powers as a Shinjin. I don't want to make you afraid." Laura leaned close to Ray's ear, not touching his face but still close enough where he could feel her breath (a feeling he didn't mind, perhaps even liking it) as she said "I'm not afraid of you. I suppose I was afraid of what I didn't understand back then but now I understand it." Ray smiled and held her left hand lightly (he was sitting left of her on the bench) and said "I'm glad. Aren't you the least bit curious about what I've got planned though?" Laura pulled back to her previous distance and replied with a smile, saying "Actually I'd like you to surprise me so don't give me any spoilers." Her sweet smile made Ray feel happy, a feeling he didn't get often. He smiled back and said "Alright, I've had a few surprises in store but I guess I'll make the whole thing a surprise. As for today, how about we just see a movie. Today seems uneventful except of course for that Drona Incursion but-" Laura wraps her arms around him in an embrace, interrupting him and saying "Sounds good to me."

Ray smiled as she let go, saying "I keep talking too much don't I?" Laura smiles at him again though doesn't verbally reply as the two got up, intent on having a nice and calm day at the theater.

* * *

8:35 PM

* * *

The day went by calmly, surely the SOS-dan probably had a little more excitement but that wasn't the point of the day.

Following the movie which was simply an anime film which ironically was produced by someone who had a subconscious psionic link to someone else on another planet many lightyears away but because of a wormhole just 20 lightyears from Sol he was able to dream this man's life in real time. It would be an interesting thing if he had met Uzumaki Naruto for real, which might be a possibility as the planet known to the galaxy as Procyon VIII was a trade state for the Imperial Kylandarian Republic, an independent world which was granted security and protection in exchange for promoting galactic trade which sometimes in many cases there was a greater profit in having them independent instead of being annexed, something the previous imperator, Alpha Destriex, did not see.

Ray and Laura had spent most of the day afterwards simply visiting several stores to see what they had, eating at an Italian restaurant not far from the theater and spending an hour at a small arcade, though careful not to give the wrong idea to others around them there was the sad fact that people always got the wrong idea about a man and a woman enjoying the day together though technically the wrong idea was the right idea here, the two were on a date but kept their outward actions closely restricted to a degree yet that did not remove the fact that they enjoyed the moment. This was not the first time the two had just had a normal day, although back then they were 14 and were considered brother and sister despite their hidden feelings to eachother.

The two reached Ray's residence after their outing and with nobody else around, no longer restrained themselves, Laura smiled and said "Days like this remind me of when we were kids. I remember spending a lot of time with you when we were 14 and 15, before you were abducted just three days from your birthday." Ray nods and says "Yeah it does make me feel nostalgic, but this time we're open about our feelings." Laura smiled and the two embraced eachother in a kiss for 10 seconds before like before, both slowly broke it before Laura then said "I'll see you tomorrow." Ray nodded and said "See you tomorrow."

As Laura left and Ray entered his house he decided to head to bed. Once in his room he noticed a presence and said "It's not like you to bother me? It's even more surprising you actually found me."

A woman made herself known, likely 26 - 28 years of age, her hair slightly messy and had a pair of headphones on her, she was dressed casually in a black shirt with dark blue jeans and said "We need your help. Abstergo seems to have caught wind on something and when we found out what it was, we were petrified at the possibilities." Ray sighs and says "What is it Rebecca? I told you and William Miles before that your brotherhood has a safe-haven on Mars now and I know you keep in contact with the Martian Brotherhood or rather more specifically your little Sanctuary where you can train and live and retire without having to worry about a Templar among the ranks." Rebecca Crane, the woman who was intruding on his residence replied "Listen, it's not that we're ungrateful about what you did for us, especially when you made it clear to us that Desmond didn't have to use that device, if he had done it he would have died for nothing because you were already in a position to keep the sun at bay, without so much as a whimper to the public. I honestly don't know what would have happened if we lost him. But I'm here because the person Abstergo is interested in this time you're also interested in. Suzumiya Haruhi."

Ray muttered under his breath "Merde" Whenever Abstergo was concerned and they begun to irritate him, he felt the urge to curse in Italian, perhaps a habit gained because he knew the Florentine Eagle, Ezio Auditore, personally and in point of fact, someone the two of them had met, a Human infused with Inferni (a demonic looking Terrestial Alien Race called by humans Demons but by themselves Inferni) named Pyrrha Alexandra along with her Brother Patroklos were gifted by Ray's Shinjin abilities longevity and are still alive today, Praetorian and Praetorii respectively. Patroklos was given training in energy weapons and later managed to assert absolute control over a revived Soul Calibur (Which was in fact a Psionic Weapon built by the Valkyur alongside Soul Edge that somehow had captured the psionic and mental imprints of it's first wielder, a Valkyrian named Theresa Elysium, a valkyrian pureblood with Soul Edge having somehow captured the psionic and mental imprints of a Blazer who was driven insane and thus became a serial killer whom Theresa put down, his name was Jason Velorian and as such is why the two blades were always at odds but now, with a combination of nanotechnology and Ray's gift of psionic power to the two siblings can wield them without any problems and in full.)whilst Pyrrha was taught how to control her latent Inferni abilities in addition with Ray using closed space to give her the powers of a blazer, allowing her to control Soul Edge with absolute authority (Her brother was modified to have the powers of a Valkyur Ordinary). Pyrrha's control over her Inferni Biology and Psionic abilities enables her to resume her normal human look though can augment her powers in what the Inferni identify as a "Devil Trigger" something in which now is complete when Pyrrha activates it, no longer having any resemblance to a human aside from her hair (turned jet black by the power) and having two arms and two legs.

Memories aside, Ray said to Rebecca "I'll make it so that you'll have more direct support. If Abstergo is intent on going after Haruhi then I'll also be dealing with them directly. Now right now I want a bit of sleep." Rebecca nodded and said "Thank you." before opening Ray's window and with a display of acrobatic abilities, makes a leap of faith and lands with ease thanks to a personal KDLS. The Imperial Kylandarian Republic has been officially supporting the Assassin Brotherhood occasionally against their foes the Templars and Kinetic Dispersal Landing Systems were now common among the assassins, allowing them to vault great distances in the urban jungles of Earth whereas before haystacks were common and before the endorsements, a leap of faith only worked in rural farm areas, dilapidated areas and near water more than 50 feet deep.

Ray closes the window and keeps an active search with his nanites and senses whilst still able to fall asleep and dream.

He and Laura have already been close for so long and he has no intentions of being halfhearted in their relationship which means all that is left to advance is to him a simple answer.

When the school trip comes and they have privacy, he'll propose to her.

As for Abstergo, he'll manipulate DarkCorp and specifically Mandark into deal with them whilst also assisting the assassins and sending his own covert ops to sidetrack their efforts. Though the IKR wasn't around during the time of the first civilization, Ray knew about them more than both secret orders because once he and Laura had a time travel trip within their primary one though Ray returned them to the second after they were sent back. He had personally met Minerva and Juno and at the time both seemed to be rather talkative, explaining what was going to happen and what would happen in his lifetime. It was then after he returned to the less-distant past that he made the decision to re-associate with the kylandarian empire as they had the technology not only to shield Earth from the cycle but redirect the powerful solar flare at Venus instead of Earth and make that line permanent, meaning Venus would be hit by the constant flares as time passes, never again would Earth face it, not in 150,000 years nor 300,000. This would also assist in terraforming Venus as because it was closer, the flare would burn off some of it's dense atmosphere and the tectonic movement would shift the crust into positions more favorable for future ocean formation. Sure the project would take 15 million years if left alone naturally but once the IKR make themselves known to the Earth, such a task is within accomplishment of only 10 Earth Years.

With these things in mind, sleep claimed him, a smile on his face as all that he had to do now was find the perfect ring.

* * *

To be continued...


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Legacy of the Valkyria.

"On Tortana, a world far from our own, the legends of the Valkyrie are known as the Valkyria or the Valkyur. On Earth it is the Valkyrie as their presence and influence in our culture was less than Tortana's. There is only one true way to destroy the Valkyur ideology and that is from within."

* * *

Tokyo, Japan, Sasakuza District - POV - Selvaria Bles. Two days later.

* * *

Ray had arranged transport and several other necessities for what Selvaria was to do here.

Yusa Emi, a non-terrestrial human who is much like Selvaria's previous adversary, Alicia Melchiot. Half Human and Half Valkyur and furthermore however unlike Alicia, her human side is of Ente Isla, enabling further psionic abilities than what Alicia's ultimate potential would be (though Selvaria had no ill will towards her, no longer having an interest in returning to Tortana just yet as she was informed that her rival has settled down and has a family and the war Selvaria was manipulated into fighting no longer has Gallia part of the conflict.).

Selvaria waited at a crosswalk, waiting specifically for the person of interest as the IKR had enough intel to gain access to her schedule and habits. It would be a difficult thing to explain to her, that what she believes is magic is actually psionic power genetically inherited from the Valkyur.

Soon enough someone approached but it was not Emi but rather some idiot running from something, Selvaria shrugged and let the incident pass until a pulse of energy shot past, the person who was running barely evaded it but he moved at a pace otherwise impossible for ordinary humans.

Selvaria felt what seemed to have been an outside influence attempt to wipe her memory but her own native powers refused to permit it. Selvaria's eyes glowed red as she manifested her powers with sheer will alone, drawing on her experiences in the past in order to activate the flame instead of actually being injured.

A small device on her left wrist made itself visible from before it was invisible, the device dematerialized a durantium composite blade similar in design to Selvaria's old weapon from her service in the EEIA and she drew it, the flames scaring bystanders away as she turned to face whatever had discharged the psionic pulse and saw a slightly disturbing sight and realized just what she was looking at.

Sadao Maou, the individual who was associated with Yusa Emi was seemingly running for his life, chasing him (and shooting at him) was a white haired man in a red trenchcoat, a rather large sword on his back which emanated a dark psionic energy which would strike anyone else without the knowledge as demonic power.

Selvaria had read his file as well.

Dante, no last name.

A terrestrial "demon" known to themselves as Inferni hybridized with human dna.

Human Mother and Inferni Father.

He made a habit of striking down any Inferni or supernatural threat that came his way, mostly for payment but also to, as Ray's report in the file said, "get off on killing the demons that are ironically the very same race his father was."

Selvaria however had a slight advantage here in that Dante knew Ray, and about his entire interstellar empire, and didn't give a shit. The IKR had occasionally paid Dante to deal with inferni threats that were getting a little too close for comfort to some key individuals but recently it seems he is after Sadao Maou.

Selvaria's thoughts were swept aside as she would need to stop his attack at the moment because as far as intel relates, Yusa Emi would likely step in to save her ex-rival and against Dante without any true experience, she would not likely last long. Selvaria not only has the advantages of a pureblood Valkyria but also the technological advantages of the Imperial Kylandarian Republic, though this may not stand up further than equality against Dante's personal skill and Bio-Tech weaponry (referred to as Devil Arms).

Dashing between an exhausted Maou and intercepting a stinger from Dante's sword, Rebellion, Selvaria stared at the blue eyed Devil Hunter who gave a smirk before twisting his blade upwards, deflecting Selvaria's parry and forcing her back into a defensive stance whilst Dante relaxed his blade to the right and said "Well, what do we have here."

Dante ran his fingers across his chin with a look that annoyed Selvaria, she had heard of Dante's tendency to tease his opponents in battle, specifically how he teased his female opponents would be irritating perhaps but Selvaria was uninterested in losing this fight and the fact that she was Valkyria, not Blazer meant she needed to keep her anger in check.

Selvaria spoke, saying "I need you to cease this attack before anyone else is injured." Dante laughed a bit before saying "Look babe, not that you aren't better looking than Trish but I've got a job to pull and for starters, the only humans I've killed were people who summoned demons or tried to end the world as we know it."

Selvaria revealed her intentions as she corrected him, saying "You mean Inferni."

Dante's face turned serious as he seemed to be inspecting Selvaria who along with Maou sensed some type of psionic aura emitting from Dante, a form of sensing to determine if she was Demon. Dante laughed immediately, so loudly that he seemed to be, for that moment more of a fool in appearance than a seasoned mercenary with incredible psionic abilities. Dante rested Rebellion on his back and holstered Ebony as he said "So what is a Valkyria doing helping out Ray? I thought those two didn't get along well."

Selvaria relaxed her psionic aura a bit but remained ready as Dante was known for exploiting any and all lulls in battle. She replied, saying "He saved my life when otherwise he had no reason to. I am not affiliated nor ever was with the Valkyur Regency and despise their philosophy. I am here to locate another Valkyria unaware of her true heritage before the Regency decides to exploit her." Dante shrugs and says "And what does this have to do with the demon king here? He's neither Inferni nor Valkyur, not to mention last time I checked, he wasn't female." Selvaria was about to speak when she felt another Valkyria's aura about as Dante shifted to the right with a trickster dash to avoid being hit by a rather larger form of Better Half, there stood Yusa Emi whose power was out enough to manifest silver hair and red eyes though no cobalt flames manifested. She took a glance at Selvaria for a moment and Dante took advantage of that, dashing behind her and sending a strong forward kick, sending the "angel" back considerably whilst saying "Well there she is, I'm not really interested in self-proclaimed angels, something about the Valkyria just make me want to fight them, probably because I'm half inferni and all that. I still have a job to do though and Ray isn't the one forwarding the check so will both of you kindly step aside so I can kill the small fry?"

Selvaria sighed and spoke as she drew her blade from it's sheath and her expression changed slightly. Had anyone who knew her from Tortana seen and heard what just transpired they would swear it wasn't the Selvaria they knew.

Her words were "How about a wager then. If I manage to draw blood three times then I'll speak to Ray about paying you twice for backing down from this contract. If you manage to get past me then you may do as you please."

Dante smiled and drew rebellion, saying "Now that's more my style baby! I'll try to leave your face intact."

Selvaria spoke softly to Emi, saying "Stay out of this." and walked forward, she knew she likely couldn't knock Dante out but if he kept his end of the wager then it wouldn't be a problem as she dashed forward so much it was a blur but to her surprise Dante deflected her durantium blade with not Rebellion but with Ivory, she then remembered that Dante did not wield ordinary firearms, they were psi-tech weaponry that he used to his advantage and their frames were Duranitum lined, meaning she would not be able to just simply slice through them.

Evading a swing from Rebellion as well as deflecting several rapid-fire barrages from Ivory Selvaria dashed to the side and thrusted her blade in the air so as to discharge a barrage of ionized bolts similar to how she used the spiral lance in the past, now profficent enough to use non-ragnite weaponry as a conduit for her powers.

Dante smirked and air tricked above her, sending a helm breaker down which Selvaria deflected with her sword and irradiated a slight explosion of her cobalt flame, pushing Dante back with the resulting shockwave as Selvaria's hair was nearly glowing blue and her eyes seemed to outshine the sun, her blade became encompassed in a semi-transparent energy shroud which seemed to be a cobalt version of Ray's Ethereal Sword.

Selvaria dashed forward, Maou and Emi were able to glimpse the speed they were fighting at and by all honesty, Dante's chasing of Maou was likely toying with him, enjoying every moment like a Cat playing with a mouse before actually killing it.

Dante deflected several rapid strikes from Selvaria which matched the speed of his technique "Million Stabs" and air tricked above her and then air dashed to gain some distance. As Selvaria turned to face Dante he activated his Devil Trigger and his new form smiled, saying "Looks like I'll be able to unwind a little, you're pretty good. Mind telling me your name? I'm sure you know mine but I'll tell you anyway. Dante."

Selvaria let a small smirk make itself known as she replied "Selvaria." to be honest with herself, she was enjoying this spar with the son of sparda.

The two dashed at eachother again, Selvaria using her powers in a manner Emi thought was advanced (though she could do it, it took concentration but for Selvaria it seemed to be easy). By ionizing the air around her, Selvaria created a magnetic bubble in which she could levitate and become airborne without the need for any flight technology, Dante's devil trigger form on the other hand had wings and could fly without the need to ionize the local area.

The fight took to the skies and to any observer there was a sudden flash of blue and red explosions in the skies above Tokyo, to Selvaria and Dante, they were engaging with their swords charged to full, the clashing psionic auras resulted in detonations which tempted Selvaria's memory to recall the moment before she met Ray, when she activated her final flame. At close range she and Dante saw a purple aura between their clashing swords instead of sparks, the red demonic psi energy of Dante clashing with Selvaria's blue ethereal blade resulted in a pulse of energy which surprised both of them.

Selvaria and Dante landed on top of a 10 story high building, Dante having left his Devil Trigger and checking his sleeve, noticed a cut.

Selvaria grinned and said "That's one." Dante replied "Hmmph, try not to get burned."

* * *

POV Change - Ray Zenji

* * *

The slight break from school would have been better if Haruhi did not insist on coming with him but then again Ray said it involved his Praetorii Selvaria Bles and Haruhi wanted to know what kind of work the Praetorii would be involved in, understandable as Ray had offered her said office.

Ray crouched over the roof of a skyscraper overlooking the blue and red scene on a lower building, Haruhi was more careful and wasn't willing to be a hair's length away from falling 14 stories though she did remind herself that such a fall would be nothing for Ray or her since the two were Shinjin.

Ray whistled as he observed Selvaria's fight with Dante as he noticed Dante nick Selvaria in the shoulder with a barrage of bullets though out of 30 shots only one had scraped her. Haruhi spoke, saying "Why are you not intervening?" Ray replied "Well originally I came here to check on a friend of mine but it seems Selvaria couldn't have picked a better sparring partner. The man she's fighting is Dante, he doesn't have a last name unless you take Infeni traditions of your last name being your father's given name. As which he would be called Dante Sparda. In either event he and Selvaria are not equal in skill, Selvaria is good but relies too much on raw power whilst Dante favors agility and deception."

Haruhi sighed and said "Not what I asked. I can understand a little now why you talk so much but honestly you should just answer my question." Ray sighed and said "Yeah I'm working on an excuse to get involved right now but it seems Selvaria made a wager with Dante, this is a duel between them and I have no right to intervene unless Dante is about to kill her though I am proud in a way. I taught Selvaria how to utilize her powers in this manner and it seems to be enough to make Dante fight seriously without winning outright." Haruhi spoke, saying "So, how do you know Dante?" Ray shrugged and replied "I give him a paid job once in a while to kill some Inferni intent on slicing up innocent bystanders or eat them. His paternal heritage isn't exactly the best of example of terrestrial alien races and he knows it. His Maternal heritage is human, an ordinary human. We first met when he accidentally stumbled in on that friend I wanted to check in on."

Haruhi replied "And this person would be?" Ray replied "Hino Rei, a rival of mine in a way. I once offered to have her become a Praetorii but her loyalties seem to be elsewhere, not knowing the truth about her so called friend."

Haruhi was about to speak when the tide of the battle began to shift to Selvaria's favor.

* * *

POV Shift - Selvaria Bles

* * *

Selvaria evaded a stinger from Dante and sliced the air in front of her with her Ethereal blade, causing a wave of blue energy to impact Dante from behind, cutting him a second time only this time more severely, enough to have Dante dash back and summon a Vital Star S (A Bio-Tech object that heals injuries) and crush it over the injury, healing it.

Selvaria spoke, saying "Two down, one to go." Dante shrugged and said "Yeah, yeah, I know the deal."

After those words he smirked and activated his Devil Trigger again and placed Rebellion on his back and drew Ebony & Ivory, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets which Selvaria opted to evade instead of deflect as the sheer number was past her ability to deflect, added with the fact they were from two sources, not one.

Selvaria flashed in a blur of blue color and appeared behind Dante who moved his back so that Rebellion which was in rest deflected her sword's slash. Dante ducked and leg sweeped her and was about to send a barrage of rounds when she rolled to the side and formed a blue psionic blade over her free hand and drove it through Dante's back, impaling him in the chest with the psi-attack and said "That's three."

Dante kicked her back slightly and deactivated his Devil Trigger, saying "Nice move, well I've had enough fun for now so you should keep your end of the bargain and have Ray cough up 2 mil."

Ray flickered between them as Selvaria's psionic wrist blade dissipated. Selvaria wasn't expecting him to be nearby as Ray said "Timing is everything I guess. I wasn't here to keep an eye on Selvaria if that's what you're thinking but rather I came to keep an eye on someone else."

Haruhi appeared as well which annoyed Ray slightly as he knew, correctly, that Dante would get the wrong idea.

Dante looked at her for a moment before saying "So, finally pulled that stick out of your ass?" Ray sighed and said "Haruhi and I are not involved the way you think we are." Haruhi spoke, saying "Is this the kind of thing I'll end up doing if I accept your offer?" Ray nodded and said "It is a military position incase I need to remind you. In any event I do intend to compensate you but first I need to know who hired you to kill Sadao Maou."

Selvaria wasn't surprised he knew what was going on as after all the had a nanite link, enabling them to share information and experiences through an AR Display.

Dante shrugged and said "Some suit from Abstergo Industries, said there was a demon interfering with their attempts to get information from some redhead, need I remind you that it was the same person that tried to chop me in half just as your attack dog stopped me from finishing my job?"

Ray sighed and said "I advise you avoid Abstergo, they may as well be demons in human form considering how far they are willing to go to achieve their ends. I'm sure they would have paid you but you would have been carrying out an action that would sooner or later become a serious threat for others."

Dante sighed and said "Same old story, sometimes I wonder if people will never learn. Ah well, I made a deal with your girlfriend so I'll back off the small fry." Ray sighed and said "If you must know, I am involved with Laura now, not Selvaria."

Dante laughed and said "Her? About damn time. You do realize that she's half inferni like me." Ray nods and says "I've known and she knows. I managed to remove her memory seal some time ago, hasn't changed her view point." Dante nodded and said "Good, honestly the two of you are the perfect pair in my opinion, so much in common." Ray replied "Enough about my personal life. I'll send someone to Devil May Cry with the money, in the meantime I'll delegate someone else to keep tabs on Hino Rei. Selvaria, you should head back to Emi and finish your assignment. Haruhi and I need to return to Nishinomiya."

Haruhi sighed and said "Why? I want to meet this Rei." Ray sighed and said "Perhaps later, I've gotten a report that something needs my attention in Nishinomiya."

Haruhi nodded and looked at Dante for a moment before saying "Hopefully you'll keep those firearms hidden." Dante shrugged and said "Ray sold me one of those Data storage things a while back in exchange for information. I don't have any problems and all those fancy security devices at airports are none the wiser."

Ray spoke, saying "Besides, Dante is an American citizen, back home he doesn't need to worry about people hassling him for owning two customized handguns. Well not the people who know what he does anyway." Dante grins a bit before stepping back and falling off the roof of the building only for him to appear darting out of sight in devil trigger form.

* * *

The next Day.

* * *

Someone had used a psionic wave to erase the bystanders memories. So far nobody had been injured by the incident nor did they remember it.

Yusa Emi walked with a sigh as it started to rain and noticed Selvaria standing there and waiting, she was dressed in a simple black short sleeve shirt and was uncaring about the rain pattering against her whilst Emi unfolded an umbrella.

Emi spoke, saying "What do you want?" Selvaria replied "Yusa Emi is your name correct?" Emi nodded and Selvaria spoke again, saying "My name is Selvaria Bles and I'll be blunt. I know your real name is Emilia Justina and that you were born on a planet called Ente Isla by it's inhabitants. You came here by means of a psionic rift your people simply call gates. I represent a Galactic Power known as the Imperial Kylandarian Republic and in addition to an offer I have for you, I am also here to tell you about your heritage or rather, the truth behind it."

Emi stares at her for a moment before speaking in the Ente Islan language, saying "And I'm supposed to believe this?"

Selvaria was only able to understand her because of the small cybernetics the IKR use for universal translation. (Surgery entirely unnecessary as the nanites can simply be reprogrammed to combine and construct devices inside the body, making cybernetic augmentation though surgery and invasive techniques unnecessary, some would call this Nano-Augmentation.)

Selvaria replied "The incident yesterday should have shown that I am not an ordinary person. To be more on topic, I am a Valkyria, and so are you. What you were told as being Angels or of Angel heritage is actually of Valkyur descent. Your planet is under constant observation by the IKR because it is close to our border and the system it is in is controlled by the Valkyur Regency. That which you define as heaven is actually the Valkyur's outpost in that system. Your ability to wield what you perceive as magic is actually genetic and is a result of your Ente Islan human DNA and your Valkyrian DNA."

Emi stared a moment before replying in Japanese, saying "Again, why am I supposed to believe this." Selvaria sighed and said "Have you ever felt a surge of power when you were severely injured, a surge that you realized if you let it go, it would be uncontrollable and fatal." Emi's eyes widened, briefly flashing red before returning to their non-psionic emerald color as she said "Once, I suppose based on appearances your hair isn't dyed."

Selvaria nodded and said "I am, like you, Valkyur. I am however as it is known, Pureblood and thus my capacity for psionic abilities is far greater than most other Valkyria. Furthermore amongst the Valkyur women seem to have the highest aptitude for psionic abilities. If you are willing to learn more of your true heritage then meet me at the MgRonalds in sa-"

Emi's face shifted as she said "Anywhere but there...please." Selvaria nodded, realizing that she whilst seemingly protective of Maou, is not exactly his friend either. She spoke, saying "Then perhaps the SFC acros-" Emi again spoke, saying "Not there either!"

She sighed and then said "Then perhaps you could suggest somewhere. I have only another day before I must return to Nishinomiya, I have a job there as a teacher that I would rather not lose.

Emi sighed and said "Here is fine."

* * *

Next Week - POV Shift - Ray Zenji.

* * *

Based on her report, Selvaria had convinced Emi to learn more, the exact details seemed abstract considering the situation there but so far Emi whilst displaying a high interest in her maternal heritage is uninterested so far in joining the IKR. Selvaria however has left the door open after explaining exactly how the Valkyur Regency do things, meaning Emi seems that it would be in her friend's best interests in coming to Earth instead of causing any kind of problems in Ente Isla as the Valkyur would intervene if they suspected. In the meantime she also realized that her weapon, Better-Half seems to be a bio-tech weapon of recent design, a Valkyur's version of an Infeni's "Devil Arms" and after being told who Dante was, decided that he wasn't a bad guy after all (despite kicking down the MgRonalds door suddenly and making a big mess of things whilst chasing Maou and being forced to use some kind of sleep power on Chiho who tried to get between them when Dante drew his firearms as afterall, Dante does not go after humans, especially the kind who seem to be the fodder demons go after though also on a side note, Dante paid a visit there later and though Maou, Emi and their friends were the only ones who remembered the carnage (Their repairs and memory wipes saved Dante the usual "damages" factor in his job expenses) and it seems Dante intends to leave Maou alone, realizing from Chiho that he wasn't a bad demon.

In the meantime the school trip to Hokkaido would be soon though something began to unnerve Ray, as he was getting a bad feeling something might interrupt his plans for the trip.

* * *

POV Shift - ? - Tortana, Gallia

* * *

A woman seemingly of 30 years of age with Valkyrian White Hair and Red Eyes held a sword to a young male's throat, the man, Welkin Gunther, former militia tank commander during Gallia's participation in the second europan war and at the moment, a father.

Alicia was recovering from childbirth and was in no position to fight off a valkyria and activating her powers in this situation would be fatal, she was sitting in a corner holding her infant daughter in her arms, cradling her and so far, keeping her from crying.

The Valkyrian woman spoke, saying "I will ask you once more, where is my daughter!" Welkin replied "If I tell you, will you leave my family alone?" The woman nodded and said "I give you my word, I only seek the location of my daughter. I know she fought against you a year ago on the side of the East Europan Imperial Alliance."

Welkin would have otherwise assumed this couldn't be true but with the Valkyur there was the chance they had longer and more thriving lives as this woman seemed to be too young to be Selvaria's mother. Welkin spoke, saying "As far as I know last year, she gave her life to destroy most of Gallia's regulars in what people say was a Valkyrian legend known as the Final Flame. She waited until the men under her command were a safe distance before activating it."

A tear ran down the mother's eye as she asked "Was a body recovered?" Welkin shook his head and she seemed to give the response of relief, saying "Then she may yet be alive. Rarely does one survive such a technique without assistance however."

A buzzing sound came from something in the woman's pocket which she took out, a small flat device made of ragnite made itself known and a voice spoke from it, in a language Welkin did not recognize. The woman spoke in the same language, saying "She is where!?"

The voice replied with a single word that was persistent regardless of language. It said "Earth."

The woman sighed and said "I will be heading there then. I will meet you later at the usual location."

With those words she pressed a button on the device and placed it back in her pocket as well as lowering her sword, saying "I apologize for troubling you and your family. It's just that my daughter was wrongly taken from me during a time I could not protect her. I pray the same fate does not befall you and I offer your wife this blade, it reacts with the cobalt flame and she would be able to wield it well."

The woman holds her sword out to Welkin who takes it just before saying "I suppose I can understand, I would be angry as well if someone kidnapped Isara from us."

The woman nodded and said "I am glad you understand. Again I apologize. My name is Olivia Bles. I doubt we will meet again."

With those words she disappeared in a blue blur, presumably in search of her daughter, Selvaria.

* * *

To be continued...


End file.
